Panic at Riyadh airport as cargo of 300 cobras escapes

Agence France-Presse ^ | August 1, 2002

[Selmo]

Panic hit the Riyadh airport when 300 live poisonous cobras escaped from a passenger's luggage, a newspaper reported yesterday.

Al-Jazirah quoted eyewitnesses and officials at King Khaled International Airport as saying the cobras escaped after a customs officer insisted that the man, who had flown in from Cairo, open his suitcases for a search.

Mohammad al-Dakheel, head of the airport's customs, said the snakes were killed in cooperation with the ministry of agriculture.

He declined to say how many the snakes had slithered free, but eyewitnesses estimated it at around 300.

It was not immediately known why the passenger, whose nationality was not disclosed, was carrying the snakes. No injuries were reported.

The paper did not say if the man was arrested.

[sweetliberty]

"Carvelle family reunion?"

ROTFLMBO!

[xJones]

Showing that I have entirely too much time on my hands, I've just mused that if you dropped each cobra into a thick sack, you could then place the whole sack into the suitcase.

There are few things in life that would give me more pleasure than standing (at a very safe distance) with a videocam and taping you dropping 300 cobras into a thick sack and then stuffing them into a suitcase.

[sweetliberty]

"how would one go about putting 300 cobras in luggage?"

Interesting movie material. "Airport 2002'?

[Ax]

We could send Saint Patrick there to clear up their snake problem, but can't have any symbols of Christianity there, can we?

[sweetliberty]

Steve Irwin is amazing! They should have called him in. Hey, that gives me an idea. He's so good at spotting and handling vermin, maybe we should offer him a job as head of airport security.

[sweetliberty]

You have way too much time on your hands too don't you darlin'?

[Prodigal Son]

But this does raise the question of how do you stuff 300 cobras into luggage?

Very carefully...

[Travis McGee]

How could they find the right snakes?

[oldfart]

A primary food source for cobras is other snakes. A mother cobra guards her nest until just before the eggs hatch, which gets her off the scene when the little ones come crawling out.
I don't know how he worked this, but knowing the above, I don't think they were all in a single container. They had to be in separate bags.
By the way, cobras are not immune to cobra venom.

[ZULU]

I'd take my chances with a cobra over one of those burnoosed bandits any day. Too bad they got them all.

[Billthedrill]

He declined to say how many the snakes had slithered free, but eyewitnesses estimated it at around 300.

Pure hysteria. You loose a crummy hundred or so deadly, poisonous cobras in an airport and right away people get upset and overestimate. People panic over every tiny thing...

[RnMomof7]

LOL...

[Thinkin' Gal]

Hmmm, was it a carry-on bag?

[happygrl]

This is obvious. Saudis = venemous snakes.