A person has been caught attempting to smuggle greater than 100 reside snakes into mainland China by stuffing them down his pants, in line with the nation’s customs authority.
The unidentified traveler was stopped by customs officers as he tried to go away the semi-autonomous area of Hong Kong and enter the border metropolis of Shenzhen, China Customs stated in an announcement on Tuesday.
“Upon inspection, customs officers found that the pockets of the trousers the passenger was carrying had been full of six drawstring canvas luggage sealed with tape,” the assertion stated.
“As soon as opened, every bag contained reside snakes of all shapes, sizes and colours,” he added.
The discharge states that officers seized 104 scaly reptiles, together with milk snakes and corn snakes, lots of which had been non-native species.
An accompanying video confirmed two border brokers peering into clear plastic luggage full of writhing pink, pink and white snakes.
China is likely one of the world’s greatest animal trafficking hubs, however authorities have cracked down on the illicit commerce lately.
The nation’s biosecurity and illness management legal guidelines prohibit folks from bringing in non-native species with out permission.
“Those that break the principles might be… held accountable in line with the legislation,” the customs authority stated, with out specifying the person’s punishment.
