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Carton containing 65 cocoons of tropical butterflies found on train at Ukrainian border

A carton containing 65 live cocoons of rare tropical butterflies was found on a passenger train during a routine customs inspection at the Ukrainian border in the Homyel region on August 9.

Discovered at the Tserukha checkpoint, the carton was found hidden behind the lining of the ceiling of a car in the Kyiv-St. Petersburg train, the press office of the Homyel Customhouse told BelaPAN.

The owner of the carton was not found.

The cocoons were taken to the Homyel-based Institute of Forest of the National Academy of Sciences for storage.

Following a court hearing, the cocoons may be handed over to Homyel biologists for research and training purposes, the press office said.