Customs officers foiled an attempt to smuggle a large number of reptiles, mostly snakes, at the Gradina border crossing, after a thorough search of the bus running on the route between Berlin and Plovdiv on a regular basis.

Three pieces of luggage stored in the cargo compartment contained 18 snakes, 10 lizards and 9 turtles, some of them belonging to protected species, the customs administration released on Monday.

A bag containing reptile food was found under the seat of a Bulgarian national, the release reads.