95 Snakes Bust Out of Suitcase at Malaysian Airport

Two weeks ago, Thai airport authorities caught a woman trying to smuggle a drugged tiger cub in her suitcase when they ran the overweight bag through the x-ray machine. This past week, a bag with 95 endangered boa constrictors, plus a few other snakes and a turtle, broke open on a luggage conveyor belt at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, barely dodging a sequel to Snakes on a Plane.

There was little question as to who this bag belonged to or what his intentions were. The man attempting to smuggle the load of reptiles from Malaysia to Indonesia was Keng Liang "Anson" Wong, also known as the "Lizard King" for being one of the most-wanted wildlife traffickers in the world.

In 2001, Wong was sentenced to 71 months in federal prison in the U.S., after spending two years in a Mexican jail. He was convicted of importing and selling more than 300 protected reptiles from Asia and Africa, stealing highly endangered species and selling them on the black market. When he attempted to sell two critically endangered ploughshare tortoises to an undercover business run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, his operation became the largest international smuggling ring busted in the world. It's kind of amazing that this guy can still buy a plane ticket.

His companies have also been linked to U.S. Global Exotics, the Texas-based exotic pet dealer where 27,000 animals were seized in the largest raid in U.S. history last December. The owner of U.S. Global Exotics is a wanted fugitive for his wildlife crimes.

To most people, it seems absurd to stuff a hundred snakes or a baby tiger in your luggage and hop on a flight. Why take the risk? The illegal trade in live animals and wildlife parts is big business, believed to be around $10 to 20 billion per year, coming in third place for trafficking, just after arms dealing and drug running. As the BBC News reported, "The profit scales are similar to those in the drug trade. But the sentences for those caught are far smaller."

Malaysian officials have been trying to crack down on wildlife trafficking; stronger laws were passed in July, but haven't gone into effect yet.

Wong pleaded guilty to trafficking 95 endangered snakes (only the boas were counted by the court since the other animals weren't protected species), and faces fines of up to $32,000 per animal and up to seven years in prison. All of the animals he tried to smuggle last week survived and are under the care of wildlife officials.

Photo credit: Department of Sustainability & Environment