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NATIONAL POST (Toronto, Ontario) 24 September 03 Smuggler is caught at airport with deadly cobras strapped to his legs
A Swedish man was arrested at Sydney airport trying to smuggle eight dangerous snakes, including four deadly King Cobras, into the country strapped to his legs.
The 28-year-old arrived late Monday from Thailand and the eight snakes were found in packages strapped to his calves, said Chris Ellison, the Justice and Customs Minister.
King Cobras are the world's largest venomous snakes, growing to an average length of nearly six metres.
The Swede, whose name was not released, appeared in a Sydney court yesterday and was charged with violating the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Act, a crime which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail and a fine of $100,000.
Mr. Ellison praised the customs service for foiling the smuggling attempt and stressed the dangers of illegally importing animals into the island nation. "Animals and plants smuggled in from overseas may introduce new diseases that are currently absent in Australia, or they may end up being dumped by the owners and spread as new feral pests or weeds," he said.
He did not mention the danger of being bitten by a snake.

LOL...at least he didn't use a big balloon and try hiding them in his butt.

The reported average length is high, I'd say, by about a meter and a half, maybe two. Max. length is 18 feet, which is a tad below six meters.

~~Greg~~

Well, I'll have to say he was pretty flippin' stupid.

Just a little detail, in case anyone's interested;

A local newspaper here in Finland had a short note on the incident this morning (Thursday, 25th).
According to it, the man tried to smuggle 8 venomous snakes into Australia; 4 King cobras, which had died on the way, and 4 Emerald tree boas...

Regards,

Christian

It made the paper in England this morning as well. All 4 cobras were dead. What sort of person was this?...makes you sick