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Man caught smuggling 100 live snakes in his pants, Chinese officials say

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Man caught smuggling 100 live snakes in his pants, Chinese officials say

Thousands of pieces of wildlife contraband seized at LAX since October


Thousands of pieces of wildlife contraband seized at LAX since October

00:45

Beijing — 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 traveler 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 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 said.

“Once opened, each bag was found to contain living snakes in all kinds of shapes, sizes and colors,” 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.

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A screengrab from video shared by Customs China shows agents handling a bag full of live snakes that the agency says were among 104 found in the trousers of a man trying to enter mainland China from Hong Kong.

Customs China


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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