A man wearing a black jacket, baggy pants, and carrying a backpack declared he had “nothing to declare” as he crossed the busy border checkpoint from Hong Kong into the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.
However, a search revealed that he was smuggling 104 live snakes in his pants, according to China Customs officials.
A video shared by the agency showed the man confidently walking through the “nothing to declare” line at the Futian crossing, one of the world’s busiest land ports. He was pulled aside for further inspection — the Customs office did not specify what raised suspicion or if it was random — and the search revealed six canvas drawstring bags sealed with tape in his pant pockets.
“When opened, each bag was found to contain multiple living snakes, brightly colored and in different shapes and sizes,” stated the Customs office. The video showed two officers examining the red, pink, and black snakes, which were writhing in plastic bags.
All five species identified inside — milk, corn, Texas rat, western hognose, and gopher snakes — are nonvenomous, endemic to North America, and frequently found in the exotic pet trade in China, where they risk becoming an invasive species.
“Those who violate the regulations will be … held accountable by law,” Customs authorities warned. In China, smugglers of live animals face a fine of up to 50,000 yuan (approximately $7,000), and severe violations can lead to criminal charges.
The Customs agency did not disclose the man’s nationality or what happened to him next, and the office in Shenzhen could not be reached for comment.
Futian is no stranger to “walking zoo” travelers. In September, a woman was caught carrying 15 live snakes, four Amazonian giant centipedes — the largest centipede species in the world — and a blue-tongued skink in her pant pockets and hoodie. A few months earlier, another woman was caught hiding five snakes in her tank top.
