Man tried to sneak 247 animals into plane

On Monday, the Associated Press reported that a few days ago a man at the Ezeiza Airport was caught trying to sneak no less than 247 exotic animals into the plane heading to the Madrid, Spain.  He was caught by the Argentinian airport security after an X-ray scan of his bags.

Karel Abelovsky had finalized a trip to Argentina with a real treasure. He was planning on sneaking into the plane back home hundreds of exotic animals. The 51-year-old man of Czech origin was boarding on a plane for Madrid when an odd activity detected in his luggage postponed his boarding. The staff at the Iberia Airlines desk noticed “organic substances moving inside”, as described in the local media. When they opened the man’s bags, the staff members were shocked. There were no less than 247 reptiles and mollusks inside. Of them, there were nine species of poisonous snakes, 15 venomous vipers and some baby boas.
The animals were held in plastic bags, with no source of oxygen. As a result, two of them were already dead when the staff discovered them. The species found are very rare and some of them are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

It is believed that Abelovsky was part of an exotic species smuggling ring. He was charged with attempted smuggling and is now facing a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.