The third seizure of this kind this month, according to Indian customs officials in Mumbai, occurred when they stopped a plane passenger arriving from Thailand with a squirming cargo of live snakes.
The Indian financial center’s airport said that “customs officers… foiled yet another wildlife smuggling attempt, 16 live snakes… seized from passenger returning from Thailand.”
The customs department stated in a statement that “further investigation underway” and that the traveler, who landed on Sunday, had been apprehended.
Most of the live snakes were either non-venomous or had venom that was too weak to harm humans, including reptiles that are frequently sold as pets.
Among them were a Kenyan sand boa, a rhino rat snake, and garter snakes.
