One could get anything in
the post this day. Venomous poisonous
snakes have been discovered in the Australian post as wildlife Officers try to
uncoil a reptile-smuggling racket, it was reported on Friday.
A death adder and
king brown snake among the deadliest snakes in the world were part of a haul of
93 reptiles hidden in six packages posted from the remote mining town of
Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, wildlife officers told broadcaster ABC.
Other reptiles shipped
included geckos, skinks and lizards. The reptiles could have fetched 119,000
U.S. dollars on the black market. Wildlife officer Matt Swann, said the animals
had been caught across West Australia, and that this was one of the largest
intercepts of illegally marketed animals in Australia.
They were inside plastic
containers which could have broken open, letting the deadly snakes escape in
the postal system. Five reptiles died before they were discovered. “They pose a
real threat and risk to the people involved in the transport and handling of
these packages, and that can have fatal consequences,’’ Swann said. Nobody has
been charged yet, but investigations are on. Smugglers of protected species
could be fined up to 20,000 Australian dollars per species.
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