Chinese national caught smuggling over 100 live snakes in his six-pocket trousers

A man was intercepted attempting to smuggle more than 100 live snakes into mainland China by stuffing them into his trousers, according to a statement from China’s customs authority.

The unnamed traveller was detained by customs officers as he tried to cross from semi-autonomous Hong Kong into the border city of Shenzhen. The incident occurred on Tuesday, the customs authority reported.

“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 revealed. “Once opened, each bag was found to contain live snakes of all kinds of shapes, size and colours,” it said.

In total, officers seized 104 snakes, including milk snakes and corn snakes, many of which were non-native species. A video released by the authorities shows two border agents examining transparent plastic bags filled with squirming red, pink and white snakes.

China, one of the world’s largest hubs for animal trafficking, has intensified efforts to combat the illegal trade in recent years. The country’s biosecurity and disease control laws prohibit the importation of non-native species without proper authorisation.

“Those who break the rules will be… held liable in accordance with the law,” the customs authority stated, without specifying the man’s punishment.