Passenger Arrested After Trying to Board Flight with Skull of a Baby Crocodile in Their Luggage

A man was arrested by authorities at an airport in India after he was caught trying to bring a baby crocodile skull on his flight.

Delhi Customs said in a statement on X that the 32-year-old man had been “intercepted” at a security check-in at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) before his flight from New Delhi to Canada on Monday, Jan. 6. 

Authorities initially discovered the man, whose identity has not been shared, was carrying “a skull with sharp teeth … wrapped in a cream-colored cloth.” They detailed that it resembled “the jaw of a baby crocodile” and weighed close to 2 lbs.

The skull was later taken in for a forensic examination by the Department of Forests and Wildlife (GNCTD), who confirmed that it was indeed that of a baby crocodile — an animal protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (WLPA).

The organization came to the conclusion based on the skull’s “texture, tooth pattern, well-developed bony palate” and the shape of its “nostrils.”

The man was subsequently arrested for illegal possession, attempt to export a “protected wildlife item” and for violating the Customs Act of 1962, which prohibits the misdeclaration, illegal export and smuggling of these kinds of items, Delhi Customs said.

“This case highlights a serious violation of wildlife and customs laws,” Delhi Customs wrote. “Collaboration between Customs and Forest Departments is crucial to ensuring such protected wildlife items are not smuggled.”

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The crocodile skull was later handed over to the Department of Forests and Wildlife “for lab testing. A “further investigation” into the incident was also opened, Delhi Customs added.

“India is among the top ten countries in terms of using the airline sector for wildlife trafficking,” said Atul Bagai, the former Head of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in India, per CNN. “This is an unwanted accolade.”

Incidents like these have prompted India, as well as other countries like Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, to crack down on wildlife trafficking by working together to share criminal intel in recent years, The Hindu reported.