Man stopped at the airport with a live turtle in his pants

Newark - A passenger was caught trying to smuggle a poor turtle through security in his pants.

The man had wrapped the live reptile in a blue towel and then stuffed it into his groin area, as the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced on Tuesday.

The body scanner at Newark Liberty International Airport in the US state of New Jersey then sounded the alarm. A member of the security staff then went to feel the cloth and noticed an unusual bulge.

When asked if he had anything hidden in his pants, the man responded by reaching into his leggings and pulling out the turtle.

The animal , which for a turtle's life had to spend an unnatural amount of time in the vicinity of a human genitalia, was a red-eared slider turtle around 13 centimetres long.

TSA Security Director Thomas Carter was surprised by the find: "We've seen travelers try to hide knives and other weapons on their person, in their shoes and in their luggage, but I believe this is the first time we've encountered someone hiding a live animal in the front of their pants."

According to the TSA, the turtle survived the ordeal unscathed. The animal smuggler missed his flight and was taken away by the police.