Illegally imported alligator heads that were about to be sold on eBay were seized by the authorities in Birmingham, England.
The stash of 80 alligator heads were being flogged on the auction site to buyers all over the world when they were seized by the police
The West Midlands Police raided a property in Perry Barr, Birmingham on Thursday after receiving a tip-off.
The seller is thought to have been making a very large profit from selling the heads of the alligators.
The force said that the suspect, who was not named, was illegally importing the animal heads for some time with boxes arriving every couple of months later.
A spokesperson for the West Midlands Police released a statement about the incident, where they said:
We’ve seized 80 alligator heads from a house in Perry Barr this morning. Not your normal find for us when conducting a warrant but it’s all in a day’s work for the National Wildlife Crime Unit and our wildlife crime officer volunteers. We received information that the heads were being imported from abroad illegally and sold on through eBay to buyers all around the world at a large profit to the seller. We carried out a joint investigation with the NWCU, culminating in today’s warrant. We believe that the suspect has been illegally importing the heads for some time, as numerous boxes have been arriving every few months. The warrant was conducted under the Control of Trade of Endangered Species Act and a 44-year-old man has been voluntarily interviewed.
eBay did not release a statement about the incident.