Unlikely passengers: Man caught with snakes in trousers at Miami airport
The phrase "to have a snake in one's pocket" doesn't speak well of someone, but it turns out that having snakes in one's trousers can end up even worse. One of the passengers, trying to catch an international flight from Miami airport, found this out the hard way.
11 May 2024 09:48
To the man's surprise, the airport's security systems flawlessly reacted to the "anomaly" detected on his body. It didn't take much for the man to admit that he was hiding... a bag of snakes in his trousers.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) published a photo of two tiny pink snakes taken out of the bag.
The animals were handed over to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and police and customs services were called.
A TSA spokesperson in an interview with "The Independent" acknowledged that the detained passenger had plans for an international flight.
He basically admitted to having snakes in his trousers as soon as the alarms went off - the spokesperson said.
It is unknown what happened to the man who intended to smuggle snakes. The authorities also did not disclose his identity or the destination he was heading to.
Exotic stowaways in Miami
Although it's not an everyday occurrence at airports, history has seen numerous instances of passengers trying to board a plane with prohibited live cargo, sometimes successfully.
Last year, a woman smuggled 22 snakes and a chameleon onto a plane at the Indian airport in Madras. Meanwhile, in January this year, one of the passengers at the international airport in Phuket, Thailand, jumped over the checkpoint with a snake called "Blanford's whip snake."
To add drama to the situation, it's enough to mention that the reptile escaped and caused quite a stir among those at the airport.
Returning to Florida in January 2023, TSA agents in Tampa found a four-metre boa constrictor hidden in a passenger's bag, who claimed it was his "emotional support animal".
