600 smuggled cobras seized in Thailand

BANGKOK, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Customs officers at a checkpoint in southern Thailand found and seized 600 live cobras inside a truck, officials said.

The snakes are now in the care of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife and Plant Conservation, the Bangkok Post reported. The driver, who allegedly told police he had transported smuggled snakes many times, was charged with violating wildlife conservation laws.

Customs officials said they received a tip that a shipment of snakes from Malaysia was on its way. Investigators believe the snakes' destination was Laos and that their eventual end might have been on restaurant menus.

The value of the shipment was put at $16,300. The driver said he was paid 10,000 baht $326 per trip.