Italian customs refuse to let dinosaur egg traffickers hatch plans under their watch
Fossilized egg smuggling is an illicit trade 65 million years in the making
After last week brought us the story of Italian customs catching dozens of people trying to make off with more than 200 pounds of precious Sardinian sand, rocks, and sea shells, we thought things would calm down a bit—that would-be thieves would return to traditional heists centered around stealing precious jewels and vaults filled with cash. We were wrong. A Facebook post from Italy’s customs authorities, published last Sunday, has shown us that the bandits are just as determined to profit off dinosaur eggs as they are bags of sand.
Custom agents at Italy’s Milan Bergamo Airport recently discovered a fossilized Shunosaurus egg that was, according to a translation of the post, being illegally shipped from Malaysia alongside “a certification of origin of dubious authenticity, issued by a body which subsequently [was found to be] non-existent.” Authorities believe the egg was en route from China, where the Shunosaurus once roamed, laying eggs in the first part of a very, very long con.