Customs officials at Chennai Airport had an unusual encounter when they discovered over 20 live snakes in a passenger’s checked-in luggage. Despite their primary focus on detecting illegally imported items like gold, authorities occasionally encounter attempts to smuggle animals across the border, a violation of India’s Wildlife Protection Act.
On April 28th, a female passenger traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Chennai was arrested after officials discovered snakes and a chameleon in her checked-in baggage. The passenger had flown on AirAsia flight AK13, which operates a daily service between the two cities using an Airbus A320 aircraft.
Upon suspicion, customs officials questioned the passenger and subsequently found live snakes housed in transparent plastic containers in her bag. The Chennai Customs tweeted a statement reporting the incident and stated that the snakes, belonging to various species, along with the chameleon, were seized under the Customs Act of 1962 and the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
A video of the incident depicted an individual cautiously handling the snakes as they slithered out of the luggage. The smuggling of exotic animal species is a significant illegal market, often leading these animals to end up in different parts of the country, including the northern regions.
Although such incidents are rare, cases of snakes being found in passengers’ bags at airports have occurred before, not only in India. In December 2022, a female passenger in Tampa, Florida, was caught attempting to smuggle a four-foot-long boa constrictor inside her carry-on bag. In another peculiar incident last year, a snake was discovered on an Air India Express plane after it landed in Dubai. The reptile had secretly stowed away in the cargo hold and was only discovered upon arrival.
In a more serious event last month, a South African pilot was forced to make an emergency landing when he discovered a highly venomous snake beneath his seat. Despite four other passengers being onboard the Beechcraft Baron airplane, the snake was eventually spotted underneath the aircraft’s wing at the airfield. After seeking refuge in the engine cowling, the snake was presumed to have slithered away, but it was later found that it was still present inside the cowling.