STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- A Swedish mother and her baby were trapped in an apartment for hours by a man who threatened to loose venomous snakes on them, police said.
The man threatened to unleash his six green Asian pit vipers and two puff adders on his captives if they tried to leave the apartment in the Stockholm suburb of Varberg Sunday, the Swedish news agency TT reported.
Police slipped into the apartment and freed the woman and child, and the man eventually surrendered, the Expressen newspaper reported Monday.
Animal expert Jonas Wahlstrom, director of the Skansen Aquarium, gathered the snakes safely.
The Asian pit viper's poison can destroy red blood cells, disrupt blood clotting and cause organ degeneration. The puff adder, Africa's deadliest snake, has enough venom to kill four to five people.
Officers said the apartment was like a "garbage dump" full of empty bottles, trash and cigarette butts. Two lizards also were found there.
"We have classified the crime as unlawful detention," said Ove Svantesson, commander of the Soderort police station.
It was clear why the man, whose name wasn't reported, wanted to hold the woman and child.
www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/02/14/Swedes-held-captive-with-poison-snakes/UPI-28651297722586/
