Wednesday, July 10, 2024 - A man has been caught trying to smuggle over 100 live snakes into mainland China by cramming them into his trousers, according to the country’s customs authority.
The unnamed traveller was stopped by
customs officers as he sought to slip out of semi-autonomous Hong Kong and into
the border city of Shenzhen, China Customs said in a statement on Tuesday, July
9.
“Upon inspection, customs officers
discovered that the pockets of the trousers the passenger was wearing were
packed with six canvas drawstring bags and sealed with tape,” the statement
said.
“Once opened, each bag was found to
contain living snakes in all kinds of shapes, sizes and colours,” it
added.
The statement said officers seized
104 of the scaly reptiles, including milk snakes and corn snakes, many of which
were non-native species.
An accompanying video showed two
border agents peering into transparent plastic bags filled with squirming red,
pink and white snakes.
China is one of the world’s biggest
animal trafficking hubs, but authorities have cracked down on the illicit trade
in recent years.
The country’s biosecurity and disease
control laws forbid people from bringing in non-native species without
permission.
“Those who break the rules will be…
held liable in accordance with the law,” the customs authority said, without
specifying the man’s punishment.
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