Snakes found on India-bound passenger plane

Indian customs authorities have intercepted a passenger arriving from Thailand with over a dozen live snakes, the third wildlife trafficking attempt detected this month.

“Customs officers… foiled yet another wildlife smuggling attempt, 16 live snakes… seized from passenger returning from Thailand,” officials at the airport confirmed in a statement on Sunday.

The suspect was taken into custody, and authorities said further investigations are ongoing.

The reptiles, commonly found in the exotic pet trade, included mostly non-venomous species or those with venom too mild to pose a threat to humans.

Among the seized snakes were garter snakes, a rhino rat snake, and a Kenyan sand boa.

Earlier in June, customs officials at the same airport thwarted two other smuggling attempts involving exotic wildlife.

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In one case, a passenger was caught with dozens of venomous vipers. In another, a traveller was found carrying around 100 live animals, including lizards, sunbirds, and tree-dwelling possums.

Traffic, a global wildlife trade monitoring organization, has described this trend as deeply concerning. It warns that the surge in trafficking via the Thailand-India air corridor is largely driven by demand for exotic pets.

According to Traffic, more than 7,000 animals, both living and dead, have been confiscated along this route over the past three and a half years.