Customs officials find 22 snakes in woman’s checked bags at India airport

Customs agents at Chennai Airport seized 22 snakes of various species and a chameleon after finding the reptiles inside luggage belonging to a passenger who had arrived in India from Kuala Lumpur, officials said. 

Photos and video footage shared on social media by India’s Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs showed several large snakes packed into transparent plastic containers that appeared to have been sealed with duct tape.

Agents discovered the animals while searching the traveler’s luggage as she passed through customs at the Chennai Airport. 

The traveler, who officials only described as a woman, hauled the snakes and chameleon from Malaysia to Chennai in her checked bags, the Indian Express reported. They were seized under India’s Wildlife Protection Act, which intends to “provide for the protection of wild animals, birds and plants … with a view to ensuring the ecological and environmental security of the country.”

The most recent discovery at Chennai Airport followed another similar one in January when customs agents found and intercepted a traveler whose baggage contained 45 ball pythons, three marmoset, three star tortoises and eight corn snakes, officials said at the time. Those reptiles were deported back to Bangkok, according to the Indian Express.