Rare crocodiles seized at Heathrow

Ten rare crocodiles are today being cared for at Heathrow Airport after customs officials discovered them aboard a flight which touched down from Africa.

The live members of the endangered African dwarf species, which is banned from international trade, were found packed individually in sacks on a plane travelling from Nigeria to Korea yesterday.

A haul of 95 other reptiles and amphibians, including 12 royal pythons and 13 monitor lizards, were also confiscated from what is suspected to be a smuggling operation.

Officials now want to find homes for the dwarf crocodiles, which grow up to five feet long. There are only 125,000 left and the species is on the category one sightings list - meaning it is in danger of becoming extinct. They are believed to have been bound for the Korean pet trade under false documents.

Those behind the operation forged export documents, which wrongly described them as six American alligators and four Nile crocodiles from a ranch in Benin, West Africa. Customs and Excise spokesman Nigel Knott said the traders probably hoped the crocodiles would escape detection because of the dangers to officials.

The reptiles will be held at the airport's Animal Reception Centre before a decision is made on their future.