STUFF (Wellington, New Zealand) 04 December 09 Snake smugglers nabbed in Cambodia

(AP) Cambodian police confiscated two tons of live snakes and tortoises and arrested two men trying to smuggle the slithering cargo up a river from Cambodia to Vietnam, authorities said.

Acting on a tip, police intercepted the boat Wednesday on the Bassac River in southeastern Cambodia just before it crossed into Vietnam.

They found 1655 kilograms of snakes, mostly pythons, and 263 tortoises that weighed a combined 317 kilograms, said Colonel Chan Savouen, deputy police chief of Kandal province.

"Snakes and tortoises are rare reptiles in our country and are strongly prohibited from being hunted and trafficked," he said.

Police arrested two Cambodians, aged 17 and 20, who said they were hired to transport the cargo but did not know the identities of their employers. They said some of the reptiles had been illegally hunted in Cambodia and others were trafficked from neighbouring Thailand, Chan Savouen said.

The snakes and tortoises were released into the wild, he said.

Vietnam is often used as a transit point for trafficking illegal wildlife from Southeast Asia to China to feed its market for exotic pets and foods.
Snake smugglers nabbed in Cambodia

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• NZL Press: Snake smugglers nabbed in KHM - W von Papineäu, Wed Dec 23 06:30:29 2009