Russian tourist caught smuggling baby otters out of Bali
A Russian tourist has been nabbed by authorities at Bali Airport for attempting to smuggle endangered wildlife out of the country.
The tourist, named only by the initials of RT, was stopped at security screening and found to be carrying four baby otters.
The Eurasian otter is a protected species in Indonesia.
Perhaps more worrying, security officers also found live scorpions in the same baggage.
"The security in Ngurah Rai International airport detected living objects inside the trunk of a Russian passenger during an X-ray scan. When they checked they found four otters and 10 scorpions," said Budhy Kurniawan of the Bali natural resources conservation agency.
The sheer size of the Indonesian archipelago, abundant wildlife and lax park management makes the country a hotbed for animal smuggling.
The infamous Komodo Dragon has been a target for smugglers recently and two months ago another Russian tourist was caught at Bali Airport trying to smuggle a drugged baby orang-utan inside a suitcase.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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