8 Weirdest Live Stuff Busted by Customs Control

 South African caught at airport with crocodiles and 70 other animals in luggage

A South African man was caught trying to smuggle 70 live animals including crocodiles through airport customs in his luggage. The 28-year-old was arrested after apparently stashing several of the valuable reptiles in his bags, along with dozens of snakes, a turtle, spiders, scorpions and frogs. Customsofficials were shocked to discover the haul of wild creatures hidden inside plastic tubs as the man passed through O R Tambo International Airport near Johannesburg after arriving from Bangkok in Thailand. The collectionof animals included at least three different endangered species and eight inch-long Caiman crocodiles, small insect-eating cousins of the famous Nile crocodile.
 
 Man caught in Norway customs with 14 royal pythons and 10 albino leopard geckos hidden all over his body

Customs officials in Norway arrested a man who had 14 royal pythons and 10 albino leopard geckos hidden under his clothing. He had rolled up the pythons in socks and put the geckos inside boxes, and then taped them to his chest and legs. The animals had a total value of about $10,000. The scariest thing about all this is that officials didn't become suspicious until they did a routine check on his luggage and found a tarantula, and it was exactly when they started to search him. 

 Woman caught trying to smuggle 51 living fishes under her skirt

There must have been something fishy about the way she walked. Customsofficials stopped a woman as she arrived in Melbourne on a flight from Singapore and found 51 live tropical fish allegedly hidden in a specially designed apron under her skirt. During the search customs officers became suspicious after hearing 'flipping' noises coming from the vecinity of her waist. An examination revealed 15 plastic water-filled bags holding fish allegedly concealed inside a purpose-built apron. The fish were later identified as tropical Catfish with one fish, the Asian Arowana, being a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) listed fish. All of the fish are Prohibited Imports. The value of the fish was estimated at $30,000. 

 German caught with 24 geckos and 20 skinks hidden in his underwear

A German tourist was caught trying to leave New Zealand with 23 geckos and 20 skinks hidden in his underwear. Hans Kubus, 58, was stopped at Christchurch Airport after checking in, and was searched by customs staff. A small package containing the reptiles was found in his underwear. The package contained eight separate compartments separating various geckos and skink species.

Kubus' luggage also contained a single gecko in a rolled up sock. A total of 24 geckos from five different species were found, as well as 20 skinks from two other species. The German admitted trading geckos and skinks from the wild without a permit. A black market trade in geckos exists in Europe and those taken by Kubus would have had a street value of around $35,850 US. The value of the skinks was unknown because trading in that species had not previously been identified. 

 Man caught smuggling 14 live birds in his trousers

A traveler was caught at Los Angeles International Airport with 14 songlive birds strapped to his legs under his trousers. Customs officers searched Sonny Dong, 46, and found bird feathers and droppings on his socks, as well as birds' tail feathers visible under his pants. The subsequent search discovered 14 live birds attached to two flat pieces of cloth that were wrapped around his calves.

 Swiss man caught trying to take 164 trapdoor spiders to Germany

German customs officials inspecting a Swiss car got a nasty shock when they discovered 164 large spiders and 45 boxes of cockroaches -- the arachnids' food for the journey. Officials found the spiders, some as large as a hand, in plastic bags and sealed inside boxes in the man's car as he attempted to cross the Basel border. The spider-man was planning to sell the spiders at a fair in Germany. The same man was stopped at exactly the same place in 2007 trying to sneak nearly 1,000 spiders across the border in his car. 

 Man caught trying to smuggle snakes in his suitcase

X-ray images caught a man trying to smuggle 44 snakes and lizards on a flight out of Australia in his suitcase. The 24-year-old smuggler had checked in for a flight to Bangkok from Sydney's airport when Customs officialsallegedly spotted him and confiscated his reptile stash when his bag was being screened. The haul included 24 shingleback lizards, 16 bluetongue lizards, three black-headed pythons and an endangered albino carpet python. The reptiles in the smuggling attempt would fetch between around £90,000 (200,000 Australian dollars) on the black market.

The reptiles were hidden in socks and cloth bags. 

 Australian caught smuggling pigeons in his trousers

An Australian man was arrested after he was caught trying to bring two pigeons into the country hidden in his trousers. The 23-year-old man was stopped by customs officials at Melbourne airport after he made it to the airport from Dubai. The officers searched his bags and allegedly found a vitamin container with two bird eggs inside. A further search revealed he was wearing tights under his trousers, with a live pigeon stuffed into each leg. The birds were wrapped up in padded envelopes, but had nothing else to protect them during the 10-hour flight. The man was arrested on the scene and could face 10 years in jail and a substantial fine if convicted. Officers also seized a money belt containing plant seeds and undeclared samples of eggplant in the passenger's baggage before he was handed over to Australian Quarantine and Inspection Services staff. 

10 of the Strangest Mc Donald's Meals

 McLobster

The McLobster is a lobster roll available seasonally and only in the Maritimes Provinces and Maine. It is called McHomard in French.

 Vegetarian burgers: McVeggie and McAloo Tikki Burger

In India, selling beef is prohibited (Hindus revere cows), so there you are going to find these two totally vegetarian sandwiches. The McAloo is made with regular bun, a crispy, breaded spicy potato and vegetable patty, eggless tomato mayonnaise, two slices of tomatoes and shredded onion. The McVeggie looks similar to the McAloo Tikki Burger, but is made out of mixed vegetables, peas, and spices, lettuce and veg mayonnaise.

 Shrimp Burger

After McDonald's posted a loss in 2002 amid the mad cow scare, the company added in 2005 a new item to its menu in Japan: the shrimp burger. That was the latest effort by the Japan unit of the U.S. fast-food chain to win over Japanese palates and spark sales. 

 McKebab

McDonald's has Kosher branches only in Israel and Argentina. There you can eat the McKebab (kebab served on flatbread). Israel and Argentina are also the only places in the world where McDonald's burgers are barbecued on charcoal rather than fried. 

 Beef Fan-Tastic

The name Beef Fàn-tastic is unique to Singapore, the name of the dish emphasize the "fan" word which is rice in Mandarin. Beef Fàn-tastic offers tasty sliced beef, grilled onions, crunchy lettuce and sliced red cabbage between two toasted premium white rice patties. 

 KiwiBurguer

The KiwiBurger is a hamburger sold at McDonald's restaurants in New Zealand, and it's a McDonald's menu item you won't find anywhere else in the world. The burger has ingredients that are not a part of any other product (beetroot for example), while eggs are cooked on a special grill. It consists of a 100% pure beef patty, Farmer Brown egg, Wattie's Beetroot, tomato, lettuce, Mainland cheese, onions, tomato sauce, and mustard on a toasted bun. 

 Gazpacho Alvalle

Gazpacho is a cold Spanish tomato-based raw vegetable soup which is served in sealed plastic cups. Gazpacho is mostly consumed during the summer months, due to its refreshing qualities. 

 Shake Shake Fries

Shake Shake Fries are sold in Hong Kong and are only available at certain times throughout the year. There are several different flavors including seaweed, chargrill, French onion and salt and pepper. 

 McArabi Chicken

In Saudi Arabia no pork products are served as it is prohibited by Islamic law. But you can eat the McArabi Chicken which is a popular Arabic-themed sandwich. It's made out of two grilled chicken patties (de-boned breast meat), Arabic bread, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and garlic sauce.

 McPinto

In Costa Rica's McDonald's you can find a prototypical traditional dish: seasoned rice and black bean dish, called Gallo Pinto or McPinto. It is served with scrambled eggs and sour cream. Gallo Pinto is considered the national dish. 

Facebook Stories

The woman who had her Facebook photo stolen and used as advertising in the Czech Republic

Everybody say cheese!! What a beautiful moment for this Missouri family posing for their Christmas card photo. But what they didn't expect is that the photo would end up somewhere else than their living room. Yes, a giant version of the image was spotted by a college friend of them on a food store in Prague, the Czech Republic. The photo was being used as an advertisement without any authorization. Grazie store in Prague's owner, Mario Bertuccio said he took it from the internet and he had no idea it belonged to a real family. Well Mario, say that to the Judge…

The depressed woman who lost benefits over her Facebook beach photos

Nathalie Blanchard, a woman from Quebec on long-term sick leave has stopped receiving monthly benefits after she posted Facebook photos of herself having fun. A year and a half ago the woman was granted leave from her job at IBM in Bromont, because of a depression diagnosis and has been receiving sick-leave benefits every month by The Manulife insurance company.
However, the pictures posted on the networking site showed her frolicking on a beach, having fun at a Chippendales show and enjoying her birthday party made her look rather happy. So, the insurance company assumed she was no longer depressed and stopped paying the benefits.
The woman said that she informed Manulife about the trip and that the pictures are not a proof that her overall mood had improved. Bad luck Nathalie… I hope your depression doesn't get worse now!

The groom who updated Facebook at the altar during his wedding

What is the groom supposed to do after the vows of love and obey? Kiss the bride? Hmmm, not in a geek's wedding. Before kissing the bride, Dana Hanna, a Software Developer took his cellphone and updated his relationship status on Facebook and Twitter. He also handed one over to his new wife to do the same.

The husband who dumped his wife by Facebook

A separation is hard for everyone but finding out your marriage is over on the internet is too much! Emma Brady, a 35-year-old woman was shocked by a message her husband posted on the social networking site: "Neil Brady has ended his marriage to Emma Brady." The woman said she had no idea about it until her best friend in Denmark phoned her to "check if she was all right".
Her ex husband Neil Brady, who is now living with his mother, stated he had mentioned the separation to his wife. And added 'Id had enough of her'. We get the picture Neil… but anyways, you could have told it clearly to her face.

The teenager who walked away from assault charges thanks to a Facebook alibi

Rodney Bradford, a 19-year-old man would have never thought that a message typed on Facebook would become –literally- his passport to freedom. "Where's my pancakes" Rodney typed On Saturday, Oct. 17, at 11:49 a.m. from his father's apartment in Harlem.
The day after, the young man was arrested as a suspect in a robbery. His defense lawyer, Robert Reuland, used the Facebook entry, which was made at the time of the robbery, as his alibi. This, was later checked by the district attorney, who dropped the charges as soon as the Facebook alibi was confirmed.

The kidnapped kid who found his family after 22 years with help from Facebook

Alex Anfuso, an Italian man kidnapped by his own father at the age of 5, has lived in Cairo, the Egyptian capital for the last 22 years using a different name. The man reappeared via the famous social networking site with the following posts: "My name is Alex. I am looking for my family. I am looking for my mother".
In 1987, while Alex's mother was in Rome's Rebibbia prison jailed, his father took the little boy from Guidonia, Italy and brought him to Egypt, where he has since lived. Anfuso, who is now 28 years old, doesn't have an Egyptian birth certificate or even residency in Egypt.
After all these years, in a desperate attempt to get in touch with his Italian relatives, he sent messages to many people with the last name 'Anfuso'. He also contacted Pino Anfuso, a TV technician who works for state broadcaster RAI and in spite of not being his relative, he decided to share the story with the popular TV show "Chi l'ha visto" ("Who has seen them?"). Alex went on air to tell his story and unfortunately, he found out his mother had died.

The boy who set a Facebook poll saying "If I get 1,000,000 I will get the 150 Pokemon tattooed on my back!" He had to hide himself after failing to keep his promise.

A young Ecuadorian decided to open a group on Facebook under the name of ¨ If I get 1.000.000, I , José Romero, will tattoo the 151 Pokemon on my back ". But he wouldn't imagine that the challenge would attract thousands of worldwide followers that were willing to support him in his exploit. Such was the euphoria of the people inspired by the boy's promise that after 24 hours, 50,000 people had already joined the group. The young man might have felt intimidated by the number of followers that kept growing by the second, that decided to suppress his profile so that nobody could find him.
The disappointed users of the group wanted to give him a drubbing for his prank and his absence of word, so decided to open a call to find his whereabouts. The space has so far, 600.000 followers!

The couple --with the same full name-- that got married after meeting through Facebook

What is so unusual about this couple is not that they met online but that they have exactly the same name! A guy from Texas named Kelly Hildebrandt met this cute gal from Florida also named Kelly Hildebrandt and they are about to get married. The love-birds met when Kelly, the girl, looked up her own name on Facebook. "I was like, 'I wonder if there's any other Kelly Hildebrandts on Facebook, so, I searched my own name and he's the only one that came up. And actually, in the picture, he didn't have his shirt on, and I'm like, 'oh, he's cute!'". Kelly, the man was also intrigued. "She started off, 'Hey, I see we have the same name, and I thought it was kinda cool, so I wanted to say hi, I guess' " he said… Well, 8 months after that 'love at Facebook sight', Kelly proposed to Kelly, and here they go…straight to the happy ending!

The thirteen year old girl who met a man on Facebook, had sex with him and then hid him in her closet

A very shocked woman called the police after she opened her teenage daughter's bedroom closet and found a 19-year-old man hidden inside. The 13-year-old girl admitted she had had sex with the man after meeting him on Facebook. Actually, according to the police, the man had been hiding in her closet since at least 2 days. The Facebook Romeo was arrested and is in custody awaiting possible criminal sexual conduct charges.

The bride-to-be who cancelled the wedding after spotting her fiancée embracing another woman on Facebook

A few days before the wedding, a furious fiancée dumped her boyfriend after catching him fondling another girl's boobs on Facebook. The angry woman plastered posters all over Rome, when she saw snaps of her husband-to-be, identified as Antonio M. by the Italian media, embracing another woman on the social networking website.
On the posters, a picture - taken from Antonio's Facebook profile - shows him nestling his head between a girl's naked boobs. This message can be read underneath "Thank goodness there's Facebook! At least I've discovered you're a traitor pig before the wedding! Signed, your former betrothed bride and the 548 guests of our wedding".

Note: according to our reader, Simon, this story is not real, but a viral campaign for the Italian movie "Feisbum". The guy with the boobs on his head is actor Corrado Fortuna, who plays the part of Antonio.

Controversial AIDS Ads

European HIV charities condemned a new German AIDS ad featuring Adolf Hilter, Josef Stalin and Saddam Hussein's look-alikes having sex with naked women. The tag line of the ad is "Aids is a mass murderer" referring to the fact that 30 million people die of AIDS every year. The controversial advert has caused quite a stir among charity activists who blame the creators for the possible outcome of the campaign that's already being launched on German TV channels and will run all the way through December 1, World AIDS Day. The agency behind the ad campaign is Das Committee.


Aids Makes Us Equal (France). Not even Superman is safe!


The caption for the ad is "Only 0.003 mm of latex lie between life and death." These ads, run by German Wimbeldon star Michael Stich as part of an AIDS awareness campaign, have stirred controversy among many, causing them to question "how far is too far?" in advertising.


The French AIDS prevention and information organisation, aides.org, has come up with some scary posters campaign to remind people of the dangers of AIDS.

German AIDS awareness ads: "It's easy to lose your head when you're horny."


There are some things that you can't just simply press "control z."


Crash test dummies are popular icons for safety. Why not use them for an Aids campaing?


MTV is getting quite edgy with this AIDS awareness ad campaign in Brazil. The ads show retro images of threesomes (one dude, two girls; they did not get THAT edgy) with a copy that covers the man's groin with the text "Except for AIDS, nothing has changed". The campaign is created by advertising agency Loducca, São Paulo.


no vagina = no sex = no AIDS. By Agency CLM BBDO / France. The logo says: AIDS does not concern you?


"Each time you sleep with someone, you also sleep with his past". Campaign to promote HIV tests.


"If the past is interfering with your life, check-your-love-life". The following ads by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health and the Swiss Aids Federation employ nudity in peculiar situations that incite both a surprised reaction and an interest in the narrative of the image. The ads certainly cause people to read the text and understand the context of the ad: 1. No intercourse without a condom, 2. No sperm or blood in the mouth. Thus, these ads are another example of the public benefit that can come out of shock advertising.


This ad was created by PHACE Scotland. It is upfront not only about gay relationships, but also their public perception of indecency. By situating the two men at nighttime, behind a bush, as an elderly woman walks down the street, portrays the seediness and discomfort that the general public seems to have with gay men. The plastic toy element adds to the kitschyness of the ad, furthering its shock value, and potentially its effectiveness. The text says: "they would talk about HIV status, but Ken's got his mouth full".