Seven people were stopped trying to fly out of the Baltra Airport on the Galápagos Islands with smuggled goods. The tourists were carrying a total of 1,313 sea cucumbers, a protected species on the islands, in their luggage. The Galapagos National Park reports that the tourists were from an unidentified Asian country. 

The “cucumbers” are a marine animal that has medicinal and cuisine uses in countries like China. The cucumbers discovered in the tourists’ luggage were dried and packed, and weighed about 20 kilos. Customs officials clued in to the attempted smuggling effort when they noticed strange bundles on X-ray scans of the groups’ bags.

Although there are sometimes legal fishing periods for Galapagos sea cucumbers, its population is strictly monitored and fishing is currently banned. 

About 200,000 tourists visit the Galápagos Islands each year.

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