French customs officials intercept man smuggling live reptiles in his socks

French customs officials intercepted a man attempting to smuggle 21 live reptiles, including protected species, in his luggage at the Paris train station, Gare de l'Est, on Sunday, according to a press release by the French customs department.

The man had been travelling from Germany, and he stored the animals in socks inside of his luggage.

Agents discovered several types of animals, including Fiji iguanas and two horned lizards, a protected species, in addition to a stack of undeclared cash.

The animals recovered were taken to a specialised centre shortly afterwards, while the man was handed over to Paris police at the behest of the local prosecutor's office.

An image of a sock used to conceal the reptiles (Credit: Douane française)

The incident was also referred to the French Biodiversity Office, which tracks such offences.

In 2022, French customs intercepted 52,506 protected specimens, including 397 live animals, including 60 reptiles, 41 turtles, 137 birds, 10 snakes and 256 kilos of glass eels (elvers).

In terms of penalties for trafficking protected species, France employs the rules stated within the Washington Convention (also known as CITES).

This means that endangered species smugglers risk up to three years in prison and a fine of one to two times the value of the object. If the crime is deemed to be connected to an organised gang, then penalties are increased to up to 10 years in prison, and five times the value of the item(s).