Airport customs officers were shocked to find a crocodile head stashed inside a suitcase in China.

The alarming discovery was discovered when the luggage was scanned, revealing the bizarre image of the reptile's head at Nanjing Lukou Airport, Jiangsu Province, on December 30.

Upon opening the bag, officers found the entire head with its massive jaws wide open.

Footage shows authorities extracting the neatly wrapped head, weighing nearly a kilo, from a wad of tissue paper.

The passenger, who had been on an incoming flight, had tried to get the reptile's remains through the airport's 'nothing to declare' channel.

Many species of crocodiles are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) regulations concerning the trafficking of vulnerable wildlife.

Chinese law also bans animal trafficking and prohibits the import or export of wild or endangered species without official permits.

Customs officials confiscated the crocodile head, and experts are determining its species.