Travel & Hotspots
What the beep... these 10 bizarre discoveries were made by the Dutch customs this year
Baked rodents, the fetus of a llama, a cute skirt that turns out to be made from the skin of an endangered python species… Yup, the customs I intercept a bunch of rarities every year and today they are announcing their infamous list again. You understand: I have to share this with you.
– Opening the suitcase and coming across a gigantic, dried deer penis. It can happen. And it's not even illegal. The deer nickel is a common birthday gift in some parts of China. The penis is soaked in alcohol, which is then drunk by the birthday person. The shivers....
– You need a permit to bring crocodile meat to the Netherlands, so also crocodile pâté. Just so you know, okay? NO CROCOPATÉ, SHAME!
– A traveler from Ecuador brought a baked guinea pig, intended as a snack. Uh, yummy.
– In the hand luggage of a passenger on a flight from Paramaribo, customs recently found thirteen songbirds. The linkmiegel was a trader and this is really sad and of course illegal.
– A gecko hidden in a shipment of lamps from China. Gosh, strange, huh, that it can't be brought along?
– Customs also found eight iguanas from Curaçao this year, chopped into pieces. By the tails, which still had skin on them, it could be determined that they were the protected green iguana. Aiii.
– 15,083 pills were taken by a couple from China. And 25,600 cigarettes were taken by a passenger from Russia. His suitcase and sports bag were full. Under the pretense of ‘for personal use’. Look, they don't fall for that at the gates.
– A handbag full of red-eared sliders, super cute, but no.
– Customs also found a fetus of a llama-like creature in a candy box. A German passenger brought it from Bolivia, where they believe it brings luck if you bury the fetus of a llama or alpaca under your house. So.
– A piranha to eat at home. By the way, if you ever get a huge craving for piranha (it could happen), this is allowed, as it is not an endangered species.
Want to read all the practical info about what is and isn't allowed in your suitcase? The rules about money, food, drinks, tobacco, animals, you name it? Customs has put together a super easy app for that. You can find it here.
