In a bizarre attempt to smuggle over 100 live snakes into mainland China, a man was apprehended by customs officers with the reptiles crammed into his trousers, according to the country’s customs authority.
The unnamed traveller was intercepted by customs officials as he tried to cross from semi-autonomous Hong Kong into Shenzhen, China Customs announced in a statement on Tuesday.
“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 revealed.
“Once opened, each bag was found to contain living snakes in all kinds of shapes, sizes, and colours,” it added.
The statement confirmed that officers seized 104 snakes, including milk snakes and corn snakes, many of which are non-native species.
An accompanying video showed two border agents inspecting transparent plastic bags filled with writhing red, pink, and white snakes.
China, known as one of the world’s largest hubs for animal trafficking, has intensified its crackdown on the illicit trade in recent years. The country’s biosecurity and disease control laws prohibit the importation of non-native species without permission.
“Those who break the rules will be… held liable in accordance with the law,” the customs authority warned, without specifying the man’s punishment.
