TAIWAN — A walk says a lot about a person, whether they’re confident, shy, lazy or – in the case of one Taiwanese woman – whether they’ve got gerbils strapped to their legs.

The 60-year-old unidentified woman, who had been visiting mainland China, was caught by Taiwanese customs officials on the island of Kinmen with 24 of the rodents wrapped in plastic bags, tied to her legs and hidden under her skirt.

According to the Taiwan East Coast Guard, officials noticed she had an “abnormal proportion” when they pulled her aside for questioning.

Credit: Coast Guard Administration

Upon getting caught red-handed, the woman told officials she had bought the gerbils in a pet shop in China for 50 yuan for each male and 150 yuan for each female, and was bringing them back home for friends, reports the EveningStandard.

However, her story apparently didn’t fly with the officers, who believe that the woman was working with a smuggling ring to test the port’s inspection procedures.

She was later charged by the prosecutor’s office with violating the Infectious Animal Disease Prevention and Control Act. Sadly, the gerbils were euthanized in accordance with regulations, reports Taiwan News.