- Chinese customs said on Tuesday they had seized 104 snakes from a man travelling to mainland China.
- The man tried to smuggle the snake into the house by hiding it in his trouser pocket.
- It is illegal to bring exotic species into China without permission.
A man tried to smuggle more than 100 live snakes into mainland China using only duct tape and a canvas bag, hiding them in his trousers.
The country’s customs department posted details of the incident on Weibo on Tuesday. Chinese version X.
Authorities said the male passenger entered mainland China through the Huanggang port in Futian, in the downtown area of Shenzhen, which sits on the China-Hong Kong border, before being intercepted and searched by police.
Officers found the man had six canvas bags sealed with duct tape in his trouser pockets containing several species of snakes, including milk snakes, western hog-nosed snakes and corn snakes – none of which are venomous, but none of which are native to China.
“Upon opening, we found that each bag contained several live snakes of different colours and shapes. We counted 104 snakes in total,” the post, translated into English, said.
Footage released by Chinese customs showed a small, thin snake.
China’s biosafety and quarantine laws prohibit the bringing or mailing of animals into the country and bar travellers from bringing exotic species across border checkpoints without permission.
In social media posts, Customs officials said they may take legal action against those involved.
It is unclear what purpose the snakes served or where they were headed.
China has a snake farming industry that Business Insider has previously covered, including in the Zisicao village in Zhejiang province.
A 2013 Reuters report said 160 households in the state raise more than three million snakes each year for medicinal and food purposes.
