Seven Snakes and a Lizard Under the Seat: A Kosovo Citizen Tried to Bring Pythons and a Venomous Snake Through Bogorodica in Boxes and Scarves

We know smuggling through the Balkans in almost every form - cigarettes, fuel, drugs. This time, at the Bogorodica border crossing, customs officers found something you don't see every day under the seat of a car driven by a Kosovo citizen: seven young snakes and one lizard, packed in boxes and wrapped in scarves.

According to the Customs Administration, these are mostly protected species. Among the seized reptiles are pythons - two of the "Carpet Spilota" kind and one each of "Short-tailed" and "Brandly Carpet" - plus a "Chinese Ring Rat" snake and a "Reticulated Super Dwarf" specimen. The boxes also held a venomous snake, which the Administration listed as a "Baron Snake". The reptiles were discovered during a vehicle inspection carried out together with police officers.

International trade in animals like these is strictly regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and every import requires special permits. Without them, bringing the animals in is illegal, whether the box holds a terrarium python or a venomous snake. The animals will be handed over to the competent institutions, and proceedings have been opened against the driver.

A venomous snake wrapped in a scarf, hidden under a car seat. This time the smuggling stopped at the border. But how many boxes like these get through when nobody looks under the seat - and who in Macedonia were they even meant for?