Nearly 400 primate skulls headed for U.S. collectors seized in "staggering" discovery at French airport

Customs agents at France's largest airport have spent months stockpiling a shocking discovery – the trafficked skulls and other remains of more than 700 animals headed for the U.S. 

The skulls were found at the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, the largest international airport in the country. Customs officers tweeted about the incident on Thursday, saying they found the skulls in "several seizures" across the airport. 

Remains of the animals were found from May through December last year, officials said, with 392 packages housing primate skulls, including macaques, baboons, mandrills and chimpanzees. Those packages were mostly from Cameroon and were meant to go to people in the U.S. More than 300 other packages contained the remains of other species – and none of the seized remains were legally authorized for sale.