Man tries to smuggle turtle on plane disguised as KFC burger

The man, who has been identified only by his surname, Li, was at China’s Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport ahead of a China Southern Airlines flight to Beijing when staff spotted on the X-ray scanner some “odd protrusions” from a fast food wrapper, according to China’s Guangzhou Daily newspaper.

Li, motivated by a desire not to be separated from his pet, he told officials, had hidden the turtle in a sesame seed buns and packaged it in KFC paper.

“There’s no turtle in there, just a hamburger,” Li reportedly told airport staff, according to the newspaper, after initially refusing a bag search.

“There’s nothing special to see inside,” he added.

The turtle was eventually freed and Li was told the animal was not allowed on the plane. He agreed to leave his “beloved” turtle with a friend so that he could still make the flight.

Some users on Chinese social media website Weibo were moved by Li’s warm relationship with his pet, while others chastised him for submitting a turtle to an X-ray machine.

This is by no means the first time someone has attempted to take a prohibited animal on a plane using unusual methods.

An American in 2008 managed to sneak a rhesus monkey through customs, flying from Thailand to the US, by hiding the animal up her blouse and pretending she was pregnant. The woman was later caught after bragging about her exploits.

In another incident an Australian man was caught with two live pigeons stuffed down his pants while attempting to fly from Dubai to Melbourne.

A Thai smuggler, meanwhile, once attempted to fool customs officials into believing that the three-month tiger cub she drugged and put in her luggage was actually a cuddly toy. Her plan was foiled when the tiger began to stir and was noticed by check-in staff.