Smuggled Shells: Dutch Traveler Caught with Illegal Turtles and Cigarettes at Belgian Airport

In the first episode of "Customs Officers: On the Frontier of Risk", aired on RTL, Fabienne, a customs officer for ten years, recounts that she intercepted a Dutchman arriving from Morocco with six cartons of cigarettes. A quantity that exceeds the authorized limit. "He is in violation because he can only bring back one cigarette end, 200 cigarettes," she explains. The customs officer specifies: "Here, it breaks." But the Belgian was not at the end of her surprises. Continuing the search, she opens the suitcase and makes an unexpected discovery: several small turtles!

"They are for our children," explain the travelers. Except that "it is forbidden," the customs officer cuts short. "These are protected species that can no longer be brought back. We will contact CITES. The turtles will probably be returned to an animal park where they will be analyzed," she explains. The cartons will be seized. And the two passengers will receive a report. What about the fate of the animals? They will be entrusted to a specialized service. Fabienne concludes: "We will hold a hearing anyway, to find out the origin and find out where they bought the turtles. There will be a report in any case that will be attached to this file."