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Boa constrictor - Source: Thinkstock
British border officials have stopped dozens of weird animals being smuggled into the country - including a boa constrictor wrapped round a man's leg.
The UK Border Agency said it stopped a passenger travelling through London's Heathrow with his pet snake concealed as part of a crackdown on illegal smuggling of animals, according to AFP.
They say they regularly come across such attempts as they lift the lid on their "weirdest finds".
One discovery was of a briefcase full of dead and plucked pigeons, with a pair of old boots alongside them. The briefcase has never been claimed.
Other strange discoveries include a puff adder and a gaboon viper sent in a parcel from Tanzania, 1,000 live spiders all individually boxed in a suitcase, and 26 rare birds of prey stuffed into plastic pipes flown in from Thailand.
Also at Heathrow, a passenger tried to smuggle in 40 rare and endangered parrot eggs, in a specially-made vest under his shirt.
And 42 dried seahorses were found, possibly destined to be ground up and used as Chinese traditional medicine.
