Smuggler had squirrels in his pants

A SQUIRREL smuggler used social media to document his ballsy mission of shoving the rodents down his pants and bringing them to Australia from Bali.

“He’s ready for the flight” and “It f..king worked, f..k all you haters” were just two of several captions Lucas Seth Jolly attributed to photos and videos of squirrels before he was caught at Brisbane airport.

He received 18 months’ jail, fully suspended on condition of good behaviour for five years, in Maroochydore District Court on Monday.

Jolly, now 20, bought the juvenile squirrels at a live animal market in Bali before placing them in socks and hiding them in his checked baggage on a flight on December 4, 2018.

They cost $15 each. Commonwealth prosecutor Sam Hill said a follower had tipped off police, who awaited Jolly’s arrival in Australia.

The Tewantin man collected his bag off the carousel upon arrival and walked to a bathroom, where he stashed the squirrels in his pants.

He then made his way towards the screening area before taking a squirrel out of his pants.

“Hey mate, there’s a squirrel on the floor,” he told a border security officer. To his surprise, the officer asked him where the second squirrel was and told him they had been awaiting his arrival.

“Who told you?” Jolly asked the officer. “It’s in my pants.”

The court heard the squirrels were kept in the luggage for a total of 8½ hours.

The squirrels were not native to Australia and risked bringing plague and rabies into the country. They were subsequently euthanised.

Jolly yesterday pleaded guilty to importing conditionally non-prohibited goods, importing regulated items, and importing regulated live specimens in a cruel manner.