On July 14, Huanggang Customs officers at Futian Port intercepted a female traveler and found four endangered ball pythons hidden in her undergarments at the inbound checkpoint.
During routine checks of inbound passengers and their luggage, customs officers noticed a woman entering the customs area without making a declaration. Her visibly nervous demeanor and hurried movements raised suspicion, prompting officers to intercept her and conduct a thorough inspection.
After further inspection, customs officers found four live snakes wrapped in cotton socks and tucked inside the woman's undergarments. The passenger confessed that she had been paid to smuggle the snakes, claiming she was offered a "carrying fee" for the task.
The four live snakes were identified by Shenzhen Customs' Animal and Plant Quarantine Technology Center as ball pythons, a species listed in Appendix Ⅱ of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora.
This was not an isolated case. On May 26 this year, Huanggang Customs also seized 30 endangered live tortoises concealed on a passenger at the same port.
This time, customs officers spotted a woman in a long skirt using a handbag to obscure her body as she passed through the "no-declaration channel". Her unusually bulky appearance and hurried movements sparked concern, so officers escorted her to the inspection area for further examination.
Officers discovered that she was wearing two layers of tight-fitting pants, with 30 live tortoises wrapped in black stockings concealed between the layers.
Certified by the Guangdong Penghai Forensic Identification Institute, the tortoises were identified as species listed in Appendix Ⅱ of CITES. They have been transferred to the Futian Bureau of Shenzhen Municipal Planning and Natural Resources for rescue and care.
Author | Ye Ziyi (intern), Liu Lingzhi
Editor | James, Shen He
Photo & video | Haiguan Fabu (海关发布)
