Customs uncover 1.4 tons of snakes

Customs uncover 1.4 tons of snakes

VIETNAM: Customs officials at Hanoi's Noi Bai International
Airport discovered 1.4 tons of snakes smuggled into Vietnam
aboard a Singapore Airlines flight from Indonesia, state media
said on Tuesday.

The consignment was registered as frozen fish, but on opening
the 87 boxes on Friday customs officers found a potent, writhing
mass of serpents, many of which had died en route.

The shipment was addressed to a company in Haiphong but it has
not stepped forward to take delivery of the cargo, the Cong An
Nhan Dan (People's Police) newspaper said. An investigation is
under way into the case.

Snake meat is a delicacy in Vietnam and snake blood is
considered an aphrodisiac. --AFP