Shenzhen customs officers uncovered a bizarre incident where a man attempted to illegally transport 104 live snakes across the border from Hong Kong to mainland China, hidden inside his pockets.
According to Shenzhen customs' WeChat post, the male traveler was stopped and searched while passing through the green channel at the Futian checkpoint. Upon inspection, officers found six drawstring canvas bags, each sealed with plastic tape and containing live snakes of various colors and sizes.
The 104 snakes discovered included non-venomous species such as milk snakes, western hognose snakes, corn snakes, black rat snakes and bull snakes. While the black rat snakes are native, the other species are exotic, and their importation into the mainland is prohibited without authorization.
Mainland laws and regulations strictly prohibit the introduction of exotic species into the country, whether by carrying them or using delivery services to transport live animals or plants. People online expressed disgust and shock at the man's attempt to smuggle such a large number of snakes across the border. One comment said, "it's already making me sick just to see these 104 snakes on my screen, let alone putting them in my pockets."
This incident marks the largest case of snake smuggling at the Shenzhen border recently. In December 2022, a woman was caught trying to smuggle six endangered wild snakes in her pocket, while in July 2022, another woman was arrested for hiding four corn snakes in her bra in a failed attempt to get them across the border.
Shenzhen customs have not released the name or age of the male traveler involved in the latest case. However, they have emphasized that the introduction of exotic species without authorization is a violation of mainland laws and regulations.
有蛇入襠！男子企圖偷運104條活蛇過境
深圳海關人員在一宗離奇事件中,發現一名男子企圖非法將104條活蛇從香港偷運入內地,藏於身上的口袋裡。
根據深圳海關微信帖文,這名男旅客在通過福田海關綠色通道時被攔截和搜查。檢查時,海關人員發現了6個束口帆布袋,每個袋子都用膠帶密封,裡面裝有各種顏色和大小的活蛇。
發現的104條蛇包括一些無毒品種,如牛奶蛇、西方豚鼻蛇、玉米蛇、黑腹蛇和牛蛇。雖然黑腹蛇是本地蛇種,但其他品種均為外來物種,未經許可不得引入內地。
內地法律法規嚴格禁止引進外來物種,不論是親自攜帶還是使用快遞服務運輸活物或植物。網民對這名男子企圖大規模偷運蛇隻過境,表示極度厭惡和震驚。有人說「光在螢幕上看到這104條蛇,我已經快吐了,更別提把它們塞進口袋裡」。
這起事件創下了深圳邊境近期最大規模的蛇隻走私案。2022年12月,一名女子被捕時在口袋裡藏有6條瀕危野生蛇;2022年7月,另一名女子則企圖把4條玉米蛇藏在胸罩內偷渡入境,但最終被逮捕。
深圳海關並未透露這名男旅客的姓名和年齡。不過,他們強調未經許可引入外來物種,已違反內地的法律法規。
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