Iranian caught trying to smuggle snakes

An Iranian man was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport late on Friday while allegedly trying to smuggle 50 snakes in a suitcase out of the country, a senior official said yesterday.

Ghahremani Arash, 23, was arrested at Gate 1 while he was about to board a Mahan Air flight.

Sitthichai Juengjiranon, chief of the customs office at the airport, told a press conference that airport officials scanned the suitcase and spotted live animals inside it.

Customs officials were alerted to check the suitcase and found the snakes inside 26 socks. Arash was arrested after he failed to produce export permits for the snakes. He claimed he had bought the snakes at the Chatuchak Weekend Market and planned to take them home as pets.

The snakes were sent to the National Parks' Flora and Fauna Department for nursery pending release into the wild.