A man was caught with 100 live snakes in his trousers at Chinese customs
Stockholm, July 10 (Hibya) - A man was caught trying to smuggle more than 100 live snakes into mainland China by stuffing them into his trousers, according to the country's customs authority.
The China Customs Administration said in a statement on Tuesday that the unnamed traveller was stopped by customs officers as he tried to cross from the semi-autonomous Hong Kong to the border city of Shenzhen.
"Upon inspection, customs officers found that the pockets of the trousers worn by the traveller were filled with six canvas drawstring bags and sealed with tape," the statement said.
"When opened, each bag contained live snakes of all shapes, sizes and colours."
The statement said officers seized 104 reptiles, including milk snakes and corn snakes, most of which were non-native species.
A video accompanying the statement shows two border officials looking at transparent plastic bags filled with red, pink and white snakes.
China is one of the world's largest animal smuggling centres, but authorities have recently begun to crack down on the illegal trade.
The country's biosecurity and disease control laws prohibit people from bringing in non-native species without authorisation.
"Those who break the rules ... will be held responsible under the law," the customs official said without specifying the man's punishment.
Albania News Agency
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