- Chinese customs said it seized 104 snakes from a man traveling to mainland China on Tuesday.
- The man tried to smuggle the snake in his pants pocket.
- It is illegal to bring non-native species into China without a permit.
A man tried to smuggle more than 100 live snakes into mainland China through his pants using only duct tape and a canvas bag.
The country’s customs authority posted details about the incident on Tuesday in a post on Weibo, Chinese X Version
Officials said a male passenger entered mainland China through Huanggang Port in Futian before officers intercepted him and conducted a search. Futian is in the central city of Shenzhen and lies on the China-Hong Kong border.
Officers found the man carrying six canvas bags filled with snakes sealed with tape in his pants pockets. The bags contained several species, including milk snakes, western hog-nosed snakes and corn snakes. None of the snakes were venomous, but some were not native to China.
“After opening, each bag contained a number of live snakes of different colors and shapes. After counting, there were 104 snakes in total,” the post read in English.
Footage shared by Chinese customs shows the snakes tend to be small and thin.
China’s biosafety and quarantine laws prohibit bringing or sending animals into the country and prohibit travelers from bringing non-native species through border checkpoints without permission.
In his social media upload, Customs authorities said they may take legal action against those involved.
It is unclear where the snakes are headed and for what purpose.
China has a snake farming industry, which Business Insider has previously written about, including the village of Zisiqao in Zhejiang Province.
According to a 2013 Reuters report, as many as 160 families in the province breed more than three million snakes annually for medicine and food.
