A man has been caught attempting to smuggle more than 100 live snakes into mainland China – by hiding them in his trousers.
The man was travelling through Futian Port, in the southeast Chinese city of Shenzhen, from semi-autonomous Hong Kong when he was stopped by customs officials, the BBC reports.
"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," China Customs said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Once opened, each bag was found to contain living snakes in all kinds of shapes, sizes and colours."
Approximately 104 snakes were seized, including milk snakes, western hognose snakes, corn snakes, Texas rat snakes, and bullsnakes.
None of the snakes were venomous.
It was not stated whether the man was arrested. However, the customs authority said people who violated the rules would be "held liable in accordance with the law".
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