Snakes on a plane! 16 stuffed in cloth pouches amid chocolates
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Mumbai: A man hailing from Tamil Nadu who was allegedly trying to illegally smuggle in exotic snakes into the country was arrested at the city airport on Friday.
The accused, Goodman Linford Leo, was intercepted at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport by Mumbai Airport Customs after officials said that they grew "suspicious of his movement" while exiting through the green channel.
Customs officials said they examined his check-in baggage, and found 15 white cloth pouches tied with thread and rubber bands, camouflaged among chocolates and old clothes.
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On opening the pouches, officials found live exotic snakes, which were later identified by Wildlife Crime Control Bureau as two garter snakes, five rhinoceros rat snakes, an albino rat snakes, two Kenyan sand boas, a coastal banded California king snake, and five Albino Honduran milk snakes. Officials said that the accused had smuggled these exotic snakes to sell them in the grey market which would have fetched them "several" lakhs.
None of the species is listed under the CITES convention, but import without documentation is illegal.
The accused admitted to having knowingly smuggled the reptiles for monetary gain, said officials.
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