Crocodile Smuggler Stopped at Egypt/ Gaza Border

A lady crossing the Gaza border, looked suspiciously lumpy, and was stopped by security guards.

The woman was attempting to cross the border at the southern Gaza station of Rafah. She was covered and wore a veil, but even with layers of clothing, there was something odd enough about her appearance to raise the guard's suspicion. She was pulled aside for further examination and a body search by a female border guard.

Underneath the layers of clothing, she had concealed small crocodiles, about 20 inches long against her body. Their mouths were kept closed by tying them with string.

When the female body guard saw them, she went screaming from the room, which set off further panic with other women in the area, but after the ruckus calmed down, there was admiration for the woman's bravery.

The woman claimed that she had been asked to bring the crocodiles over the border.

The crocodiles were probably meant for resale to the zoo in Gaza or possibly for sale to private owners.

The privately run Gaza zoo has had it's own share of problems in the war torn and much fought over, Gaza strip. The owner of the zoo Mohammed Ahmed Juma, took ten years to create his dream, the little zoo in the Gaza territory. It was built on a small strip of land close to a refugee camp. In 2004, the zoo was destroyed by bulldozers during an Israeli incursion into the city of Rafah. Songbirds, ostriches, a sea turtle, a cobra and a kangaroo disappeared that night. Juma believed some of the animals were buried , but that some fled too.

Israel withdrew from the Gaza strip in September of 2005. In an effort to continue the normalization process for the region, after years of turmoil and destruction, the zoo was reopened in October of 2005. only to have masked gunmen steal from the newly opened zoo. They took a new four month old lion cub and two prized parrots, that spoke a few words of Arabic. It seems life is no easier for the animals of the zoo, than it is for the human residents of the area.

Palestinians and Egyptians are now responsible for maintaining the crossing, which is the only one for the Gaza residents of the region. The terminal has European monitors and closed- circuit televisions, watched over from a distance by Israeli inspectors.

The crossing is still primarily under Israeli control and it is kept closed more than 80 percent of the time.

http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/woman-tries-to-smuggle-crocodiles-on/20070326130909990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-8124383_ITM
http://lists.envirolink.org/pipermail/ar-news/Week-of-Mon-20040628/026466.html
http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/35662.html