June 19
What's in a gnome? For surprised Australian customs officials, the answer was snakes and lizards.
During a routine check of international mail on June 10, an officer discovered two snakes and three lizards stuffed inside three of the diminutive garden figurines in a shipment from Britain.
A day later, officials at the same facility X-rayed another package from Britain and found five snakes and five lizards stuffed inside pottery figures and other ornaments.
Both packages had been had been declared as gifts.
It is illegal to bring live reptiles into Australia without a license.
Wildlife smuggling carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and fines of up to $92,000 if convicted.
The reptiles had to be euthanized due to quarantine regulations.
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