CAIRO, Egypt — Customs officers at Cairo’s airport on Thursday detained a man bound for Saudi Arabia who was trying to smuggle 700 live snakes on a plane, airport authorities said.
The officers were stunned when a passenger, identified as Yahia Rahim Tulba, told them his carry-on bag contained live snakes after he was asked to open it.
Tulba opened his bag to show the snakes to the police and asked the officers, who held a safe distance, not to come close. Among the various snakes, hidden in small cloth sacks, were two poisonous cobras, authorities said.
The Egyptian said he had hoped to sell the snakes in Saudi Arabia. Police confiscated the snakes and turned Tulba over to the prosecutor’s office, accusing him of violating export laws and endangering the lives of other passengers.
Real life imitates the movies.
I just wonder how long the noise from the overhead bin would be tolerated before some hapless passenger or flight attendant became curious? Or how about the aisle seat guy who opens the bin and discovers a wriggling bag? Good Grief !!
Some people just have no sense of humor.