Hanoi - Vietnamese customs officials found a slithery surprise in the cargo hold of a commercial flight - 1.4 tonnes of live snakes, some of them poisonous, an official said Friday. The reptiles, packed in 60 crates and labeled "fresh fish," were discovered Thursday when the cargo from a Vietnam Airlines flight from Bangkok was being inspected, according to Dao Van Lien, head of customs at Hanoi's Noi Bai Airport.
"It's an amazing number of snakes," Lien said, adding that there were too many to make an accurate count.
The delivery address and phone number on the boxes were unclear, but authorities said they believed the reptiles - including poisonous cobras - were bound for restaurants in Vietnam or China.
"Who knows what would have happened if they had broken out and crawled around the plane when it was flying?" Lien said.
However, unlike last year's Samuel L Jackson horror flick, Snakes on a Plane, the poisonous reptiles never left their containers.
The snakes have been transferred to Hanoi's Wildlife Rescue Centre, which has been busy of late. Earlier this month, the centre took in two live tigers and several bears rescued from a separate wildlife trafficking ring in Hanoi.
