Traveling with 22 snakes and chameleons

Customs officers at Chennai airport have seized 22 snakes of various species and a chameleon with a woman travelling to India from Kuala Lumpur, officials said.

Photos and video footage posted on social media by India's Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs showed several large snakes packed in transparent plastic containers that appeared to be sealed with duct tape. Customs officers discovered the animals while searching the passenger's luggage as it passed through customs at Chennai airport.

The Indian Express reported that the passenger, described only by officials as a woman, transported snakes and chameleons from Malaysia to Chennai in her checked luggage. Reptiles were confiscated under India's Wildlife Protection Act, which aims to "provide protection for wild animals, birds and plants... with the aim of ensuring the environmental and environmental security of the country."

Officials said at the time that the latest discovery at Chennai airport followed another similar discovery in January when customs officers found and intercepted a passenger whose luggage contained 45 spherical snakes, three monkey monkeys, three-star turtles and eight corn snakes. Those reptiles were deported to Bangkok, according to the Indian Express.