Man smuggling bees wrapped around his body nabbed on border
A view of seized boxes containing bees, in Artvin, northeastern Türkiye, Oct. 27, 2022. (DHA Photo)


Customs officers inspecting a man entering Türkiye from Georgia made an amazing discovery on Thursday. A search of the man identified as T.B. uncovered 1,100 bees, tucked into wooden boxes he had wrapped around his body.

Officials said that the man had the proper paperwork and went through an X-ray scan at the Sarp border crossing in Türkiye’s northeastern province of Artvin. Yet, anti-smuggling units of the customs directorate stopped him due to his suspicious behavior. When he was ordered to lift his sweater, a large number of boxes, neatly taped, were detected. Inside 110 boxes were the bees, including a queen bee and nine worker bees in each box. The suspect was detained.

Also on the border, more than 104 kilograms of chestnut honey were discovered inside the fuel tank of a car entering Türkiye. Customs officials found out that the car was working on an additional fuel tank plugged in next to the original tank filled with precious honey.