Customs officials have caught a man who hoped to smuggle three huge tortoises into the country by stuffing them inside an extra baggy pair of shorts.

The man was stopped by Liantang Customs officials in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, a land-based control point between China and Hong Kong.

After noticing the suspicious bulge in the men’s shorts, they first used a metal detector and then insisted on the man handing over whatever it was but were shocked when it turned out to be live tortoises.

Experts identified the three tortoises as Hermann’s tortoises, a species listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

A customs official in a statement on 9th June said: “The man appeared to be in a hurry to get through customs and was walking very fast, and our officers also noticed the suspicious bulges which turned out to be three live tortoises tied to his left and right thigh.”

The spokesperson added: “According to Article 7 of the Regulations on the Implementation of Customs Administrative Penalties of the People’s Republic of China, smuggling is an act of hiding, disguising, concealing, falsifying or evading customs supervision. The person who attempts this will be held accountable for legal liability.”

Online commentators like ‘Shanjuan Microwave’ said: “This is how many species invasion crises come about! These people have nothing to do but harm others.”

And user ‘Flowery Pepper’ said: “There is something wrong.”