Smuggled endangered iguanas fly back to the Bahamas

Twelve critically endangered San Salvador rock iguanas seized from smugglers at London’s Heathrow Airport have been returned home to the Bahamas.

The reptiles were discovered stuffed inside socks in the baggage of Romanian nationals Angla-Alina Bita, and Vitora-Oliva Bucsa by staff carrying out customs checks.

Following the seizure, officers from Border Force’s specialist CITES team worked with the Bahamas High Commission in London to arrange their return to their native islands.

They have been transported to a government research station on the island of San Salvador where they will be monitored by experts, with the eventual aim of retuning them to the wild.

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Thirteen endangered iguanas seized at Heathrow

Rare iguanas that had been stuffed into socks were seized after officers stopped two Romanian women arriving from Bahamas

theguardian.com, Tuesday 4 February 2014 14.06 GMT

Thirteen incredibly rare iguanas that had been stuffed into socks by smugglers have been seized by customs at Heathrow airport.

The endangered lizards were found in a suitcase on Monday at Terminal 5 of the London airport when officers stopped two Romanian women who had arrived from the Bahamas.

They were due to take the San Salvador rock iguanas – which are native to the Bahamas and classed as being under threat of extinction – on to Düsseldorf in Germany.

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