A man was apprehended attempting to smuggle over 100 live snakes into mainland China by hiding them in his trousers, according to the country’s customs authority.
The unnamed traveler was stopped by customs officers as he tried to move from semi-autonomous Hong Kong into the border city of Shenzhen, China Customs said 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 said.
“Once opened, each bag was found to contain living snakes in all kinds of shapes, sizes and colours,” it added.
Officers seized 104 of the scaly reptiles, including milk snakes and corn snakes, many of which were non-native species, according to the statement.
An accompanying video showed two border agents inspecting transparent plastic bags filled with squirming red, pink, and white snakes.
China is one of the world’s biggest animal trafficking hubs, but authorities have intensified their crackdown on the illicit trade in recent years.
However, the officers said “those who break the rules will be… held liable in accordance with the law.”
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