Khaberni - Customs inspectors at Baranol Airport in Russia managed to seize a wine bottle containing a mummified cobra in possession of a lady coming from Vietnam, as she was trying to bring it into the country without a permit.
Alina Kikiena, the spokesperson for Altai Customs, explained that the inspectors found the bottle inside the woman's luggage after it underwent inspection. The bottle was labeled "Snake Wine," and upon examination, it was found to contain a snake preserved in alcohol along with a plant root.
Specialized tests revealed that the snake is a monocled cobra, a species listed under the CITES agreement for the protection of endangered species and the regulation of international trade in them.
This type of cobra is highly venomous, with a length ranging from 120 to 150 centimeters and is found in several Asian countries including India, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Based on the findings of the inspection, customs opened two administrative cases against the traveler under articles 16.2 and 16.3 of the Russian Administrative Offenses Code, related to failure to declare goods and violating restrictions on the importation of certain items.
It is worth noting that several similar incidents have recently occurred, including a Vietnamese tourist attempting to pass a mummified crocodile head through the "green corridor" at Ufa Airport without legal documents, as well as the seizure of poisonous snakes in possession of a teenager in Moscow.
