Alligator heads and guns intercepted in mail

Alligator and crocodile heads, ivory tusks, guns, and swords were among the weird, wonderful and downright dangerous items seized in the mail last year.

Information provided by Revenue shows that 261 firearms, 779 other weapons, and 27 packages containing either heroin or cocaine were among the items intercepted by An Post at its mail centres in 2016.

Among the unexpected items intercepted before they landed in someone’s mail box were endangered specimens as defined by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).