Man arrested at US border with 52 live lizards and snakes hidden around his body

‘Smugglers will try every possible way’

The lizards found hidden on 25 February in an attempted smuggling (Customs and Border Protection)

A man was stopped by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents last month with live lizards and snakes hidden in his clothing.

The unnamed 30-year-old was arrested at the San Ysidro border crossing between the US and Mexico on 25 February following an additional inspection, the CBP said on Tuesday. He was a US citizen.

Agents found nine snakes and 43 horned lizards that were tied up in 52 individual small bags and hidden inside his clothing, in an apparent attempt at smuggling the reptiles into the US.

The arrest was described as being the result of “a coordinated investigative effort by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Diego, US Fish and Wildlife, and Customs and Border Protection”, according to a HSI special agent Chad Plantz.

The CBP said the snakes and lizards “were concealed in the man’s jacket, pants pockets, and groin area”, and that the reptiles had been seized by the agency.

As was his vehicle, a truck, taken away by the CBP agents working at San Ysidro, which connects the Mexican city of Tijuana and the southern district of South Diego, California.

Sidney Aki, a CBP director of field operations in San Diego, said: “Smugglers will try every possible way to try and get their product, or in this case live reptiles, across the border”.

The snakes and lizards found in bags last month (Customs and Border Protection)

“In this occasion, the smuggler attempted to deceive CBP officers in order to bring these animals into the US, without taking care for the health and safety of the animals.” 

The man, who has not been identified, was afterwards taken to the Metropolitan Correctional Center in San Diego and faces charges of attempted smuggling. Some of those animals sized by the CBP were endangered, the statement added.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigators (HSI) and Fish and Wildlife Services (F&WS) were all involved in the arrest and investigation.

Additional reporting by the Associated Press.