U.S. customs agents seized two rare white tiger cubs and nabbed a Mexican man as he smuggled them south over the border from Texas in his truck, authorities said Monday.
MEXICO CITY — U.S. customs agents seized two rare white tiger cubs and nabbed a Mexican man as he smuggled them south over the border from Texas in his truck, authorities said Monday.
The agents found the five-week-old cubs during a routine vehicle search at the Falcon Dam border station on June 15. The driver warned them "to be careful of their hands" when they checked the truck, border post director Crescencio Cantu said.
"They thought he might have a snake in the back of his truck, but when they saw the tigers they were very surprised," he added.
Cantu said the man was given a $500 on-the-spot fine for smuggling and released.
The tiger cubs were handed over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and were expected to be given to a zoo, he said.
!ADVERTISEMENT!
It was not immediately clear where the tigers were being taken.
Customs agents working the 2,000-mile border regularly seize protected animals including parrots and reptiles smuggled from Central and South America to collectors in the United States.
Cases of animal smuggling south over the border are less common.
Source: Reuters
