A 30-year-old man was caught while trying to slither past U.S. border agents in California with 52 lizards and snakes hidden in his clothing, authorities said Tuesday.
The man’s truck was pulled out for additional inspection when he arrived at the San Ysidro border crossing with Mexico on Feb. 25, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement.
Nine snakes and 43 horned lizards were found tied up in small bags "concealed in the man’s jacket, pants pockets, and groin area," the statement said.
Some of the species seized are considered endangered, authorities said.
"Smugglers will try every possible way to try and get their product, or in this case live reptiles, across the border," said Sidney Aki, Customs and Border Protection director of field operations in San Diego.
"In this occasion, the smuggler attempted to deceive CBP officers in order to bring these animals into the US, without taking care for the health and safety of the animals," Aki said.
In another incident, a Maryland man with a massive snake collection was found dead on Jan. 19, with gruesome snake bites across his whole body, though his cause of death has yet to be confirmed.
David Riston, a 49-year-old man with a vast collection of snakes at his home that includes black mambas, cobras, and rattlesnakes, was found dead by a neighbor in the middle of his kitchen, sparking questions and speculation about how he may have died.
Riston, who was declared dead on the scene by the emergency team called upon the residence, had permits to have snakes in his home, though not the venomous types that were found with his body.
The local government reportedly hired an outside snake expert from South Carolina in order to dispose of the snakes, which totaled 124 snakes that included many deadly varieties. Possessing the kind of venomous and poisonous snakes found in Riston’s house is illegal in Maryland.
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