The cat's out of the bag—at least for a woman caught smuggling a live, two-month-old, drugged tiger cub in a suitcase full of toys at Bangkok International Airport on Sunday.

The 31-year-old Thai national, whose identity has not been revealed by Thai authorities, was scheduled to board a flight to Iran. But when she was seen struggling with a large bag at check-in, airport officials decided to x-ray her luggage.

The x-rays revealed the tranquilized tiger cub among stuffed-tiger toys, according to a statement released Thursday by TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring network. (Related video: "Tiger Trade Slashes Big Cats' Numbers.").

Officials are investigating whether the cub was wild caught or captive-bred, as well as where the woman intended to bring the tiger. All Asian tigers are listed as endangered or worse by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), mostly due to the illegal trade in tiger parts.

The smuggler—who admitted carrying the cub—could face four years in prison, a $1,280 fine, or both for possessing and smuggling an endangered animal, officials told the Post.

Though authorities should be applauded for spotting the live tiger cub in luggage, the case demonstrated a real need for tougher action on tiger smuggling, according to Chris R. Shepherd, Southeast Asia deputy regional director for TRAFFIC.

"If people are trying to smuggle live tigers in their check-in luggage, they obviously think wildlife smuggling is something easy to get away with and do not fear reprimand," Shepherd said in a statement. "Only sustained pressure on wildlife traffickers and serious penalties can change that."

All tiger subspecies are listed under Appendix I of CITES, an international agreement that prohibits international commercial trade in the big cats.

Exercise 15.Comment on the news itemand speak of other cases of Wildlife trafficking and the role of Customs and Border Protection officials who act as rescuers of endangered species. See some students’ presentations on the topic.

Exercise 16.Find out the meaning of the word combination “to get away with” in a dictionary. Think of your examples to illustrate the use of this phrasal verb.

Exercise 17. Test yourself. Choose the correct option.

1. Max _______ ____ at noon everyday.

a. gets together b. gets up c. gets along d. get into

2. Max _______ ____ his bicycle to fix his flat tire.

a. got off b. got over c. got by d. got in

3. We were able to _______ ____ on just 3 hours of sleep per night.

a. get by b. get out c. get into d. get over

4. Homework assignments really _______ me ____.

a. get out b. get along c. get down d. get in

5. The whiny sound of George's voice is starting to _______ ____ me.

a. get off b. get down c. get to d. get back

6. Please ask George to _______ ____. He's really bothering me.

a. get by b. get around c. get out d. get off

7. What time did you _______ ____ from the movies last night?

a. get around b. get back c. get over d. get up

8. Let's _______ ____ Thursday night to go over some ideas.

a. get by b. get over c. get along d. get together

9. It took me 3 weeks to _______ ____ that nasty cold.

a. get away b. get off c. get by d. get over

10. I wish the boys could all _______ ____. They are always fighting.

a. get along b. get off c. get up d. get over

Exercise 18.Match the multi-word verbs with get to their meanings.

1. The children are very quiet. I hope they are not getting up to mischief. 2. Now we are all here, let’s get down to business. 3. I wish my parents would get off my back! I am studying as hard as I need to. 4. The football coach decided it was time for his team to get back to basics. 5. The business was a little slow to get off the ground but it’s doing very well now. 6. I just can’t getthe situation with Tom out of my mind. 7. Doctors try to get the message across that too much salt is bad for you. 8. You are too soft on Jane. You let her get away with murder. 9. What happened between Dick and Karen? We must try to get to the bottom of it. 10. They’ve seen how popular the product is and now other companies want to get in on the act.

a. stop nagging me b. make people understand c. start again at the beginning d. doing something naughty e. stop thinking about f. start our work g. become involved h. get started i. understand properly, not superficially j. behave badly and not to be criticized or punished

Exercise 19.Write a short essay on Combating Smuggling according to the plan:

· First, you start with the introduction where you simply tell the reader what you are going to talk about.

· Secondly, take each of the topics you listed in your introduction and write a paragraph or two about each topic.

· Thirdly, in your conclusion simply give a summary of the main points that you discussed in the body of the paper.

Exercise 20.Compose a presentation on one of the following topics.

1. How IPR is protected in your country.

2. Why trade in counterfeit and pirated goods is considered harmful.

3. The role of Customs in IPR enforcement.

4. Customs’ anti-smuggling measures.

5. Drug concealment methods.

6. Drug-related criminal activities.

7. Special enforcement operations.

8. The most comprehensive international agreement on IPR.

9. The Customs role in combating environmental crime.

10. Customs against wildlife trafficking.

11. SOS - Saving Our Species.

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