Man stopped at customs with 100 live snakes down his pants
Customs officers in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen intercepted the man traveling through Futian Port, a checkpoint between Hong Kong and mainland China, the agency said in a statement on Tuesday.
During an inspection, officers found six canvas drawstring bags sealed with tape in the pockets of his pants.
“Officers opened the bags and found that each bag contained a number of live snakes in various shapes and colors,” the statement said.
“After counting, a total of 104 snakes were found.”
Five species of snakes were later identified – the milk snake, western hognose snake, corn snake, Texas rat snake and bullsnake – four of which are non-native to China. None of the species is venomous. The statement said the incident occurred “a few days ago,” but did not specify when.
The customs agency did not say if the man was arrested, but it warned that “if the regulations are violated, the customs will pursue legal liability in accordance with the law.”
In June, another man was arrested attempting to smuggle 454 endangered turtles from Macau to mainland China.
The man's travel through Futian Port raised suspicions due to the unusual items found in his pockets. Despite not being venomous, the discovery of non-native snakes in six bags during his journey was a violation of customs regulations.
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