A man has been caught trying to smuggle over 100 live snakes into mainland China by cramming them into his trousers, according to the country's customs authority.
The unnamed traveller was stopped by customs officers as he sought to slip out of semi-autonomous Hong Kong and into the border city of Shenzhen, China Customs said in a statement.
"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 said.
"Once opened, each bag was found to contain living snakes in all kinds of shapes, sizes and colours," it added.
The statement said officers seized 104 of the scaly reptiles, including milk snakes and corn snakes, many of which were non-native species.
An accompanying video showed two border agents peering into transparent plastic bags filled with squirming red, pink and white snakes.
China is one of the world's biggest animal trafficking hubs, but authorities have cracked down on the illicit trade in recent years.
The country's biosecurity and disease control laws forbid people from bringing in non-native species without permission.
"Those who break the rules will be... held liable in accordance with the law," the customs authority said, without specifying the man's punishment.
In a similar incident, last year, a woman in China tried to ‘slither’ past customs officials with five live snakes in her bra. According to a report in South China Morning Post, officials stopped the woman at a border-crossing point between mainland China and Hong Kong when they noticed her “weird” body shape.
Further inspection revealed five pet snakes hidden inside her bra.
The woman had reportedly wrapped the serpents up in her stocking and stuffed them inside her bra to smuggle them past customs. She wanted to get the live corn snakes into mainland China from Hong Kong. However, the unusual shape of her body gave her gig away.
(With inputs from AFP)
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
