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Panic at Riyadh airport as cargo of 300 cobras escapes
Agence France-Presse ^ | August 1, 2002

Posted on 08/02/2002 3:29:32 AM PDT by 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.


TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: cobras; riyadh; saudiarabia
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To: joesnuffy
"Carvelle family reunion?"

ROTFLMBO!

21 posted on 08/02/2002 5:58:43 AM PDT by sweetliberty
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To: one_particular_harbour
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.

22 posted on 08/02/2002 6:16:56 AM PDT by xJones
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To: one_particular_harbour
"how would one go about putting 300 cobras in luggage?"

Interesting movie material. "Airport 2002'?

23 posted on 08/02/2002 6:24:25 AM PDT by sweetliberty
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To: cardinal4
We could send Saint Patrick there to clear up their snake problem, but can't have any symbols of Christianity there, can we?
24 posted on 08/02/2002 6:27:06 AM PDT by Ax
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To: one_particular_harbour
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.
25 posted on 08/02/2002 6:28:03 AM PDT by sweetliberty
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To: xJones
You have way too much time on your hands too don't you darlin'?
26 posted on 08/02/2002 6:32:00 AM PDT by sweetliberty
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To: xJones
But this does raise the question of how do you stuff 300 cobras into luggage?

Very carefully...

27 posted on 08/02/2002 6:57:46 AM PDT by Prodigal Son
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To: dennisw
How could they find the right snakes?
28 posted on 08/02/2002 8:10:18 AM PDT by Travis McGee
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To: one_particular_harbour
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.
29 posted on 08/02/2002 9:13:31 AM PDT by oldfart
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To: Alouette
I'd take my chances with a cobra over one of those burnoosed bandits any day. Too bad they got them all.
30 posted on 08/02/2002 9:25:22 AM PDT by ZULU
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To: Selmo
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...

31 posted on 08/02/2002 9:35:15 AM PDT by Billthedrill
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Comment #32 Removed by Moderator

To: dennisw
LOL...
33 posted on 08/02/2002 11:08:43 AM PDT by RnMomof7
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To: Jeremiah Jr; 2sheep
Hmmm, was it a carry-on bag?
34 posted on 08/02/2002 1:17:18 PM PDT by Thinkin' Gal
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To: 2sheep
This is obvious. Saudis = venemous snakes.
35 posted on 08/03/2002 3:30:27 AM PDT by happygrl
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