← Back to browse

August 25, 2011 · Miami, Florida

Man Caught Smuggling Baby Pythons and Tortoises in His Underwear at Miami Airport

82

/ 100

Florida Man score

Certified wild

TSA officers at Miami International Airport find live baby snakes and tortoises hidden in a traveler's underwear.

Simon Turola Borges, a 30-year-old Brazilian national, was pulled aside by TSA officers at Miami International Airport on August 25, 2011, after a body scanner flagged him ahead of a flight home. Officers found two hatchling pythons wrapped in pantyhose in his cargo pants pockets, and when he pulled back the waistband of his underwear, more nylon-wrapped snakes and tortoises fell out. In total, agents recovered three ball pythons, three carpet pythons, one children's python, one Indian star tortoise, and two leopard tortoises, all several-week-old hatchlings protected under international wildlife trade law. Borges pleaded guilty to smuggling and was sentenced to time served, two years of supervised release, and a $400 fine paid to the Miami Science Museum.

Score breakdown

Absurdity22/25
Humor20/25
Florida Factor13/20
Unexpectedness13/15
Headline Quality9/10
Source Quality5/5

More Florida Man stories