Woman caught trying to smuggle 439 ‘alien’ beetles through airport

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Given that you can’t bring a bottle of water through airport customs if it’s over 100ml, we’re not sure 439 beetles would be any easier.

A woman was caught in China trying to smuggle the insects through Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

She arrived at the country’s third-busiest airport at an unspecified date and was filmed struggling to lift her suitcase onto the luggage scanner.

But the X-ray machine picked up several anomalies inside her bag, China’s General Administration of Customs said yesterday.

Upon inspection, customs officers found hundreds of individually wrapped beetles inside, some still alive and crawling around her bag.

She had tried to hide them under packets of snacks, the Sing Tao Daily newspaper reported.

Only some of the beetles were alive (Picture: ASIAWIRE)

The insects are considered exotic species in China (Picture: ASIAWIRE)

Footage released by customs showed the woman struggling to lift her suitcase (Picture: ASIAWIRE)

Officers counted 11 species of beetle, including the Japanese stag beetle Atlas rhinoceros beetle, Goliathus orientalis and the orange-backed stag beetle, of which there were 125 specimens.

All of these beetles are considered ‘aliens’ to China. Well, kind of. None of these beetles live in the country naturally so are considered exotic species.

Chinese border and customs officials have doubled down on checks in recent years to combat the booming exotic pet market.

One million people in China, many from more affluent families, own an exotic pet smuggled from overseas. These include monkeys, crocodiles and tropical birds.

Customs in Xiamen, on China’s southeast coast, said Monday they intercepted an inbound ship containing more than 20,000 live cockroaches.

Pest control was called over fears the insects could spread Shigella if escaped.

The ‘entry and exit animal and plant quarantine’ order prevents any ‘harmful organisms from spreading’ into China and disrupting the country’s ecosystem and farms.

A similar biosecurity law helps ‘achieve the harmonious coexistence of man and nature’ by making it illegal to introduce non-native species without approval.

Carrying or mailing live animals and plants into China is outlawed.

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