Man arrested for smuggling deadly cobras in potato chip cans

DUBAI: A southern California man faces up to 20 years in federal prison after being taken into custody on suspicion of illegally importing the endangered and protected wildlife into the US.
The man, named in an affidavit as Rodrigo Franco, was arrested after customs and border protection agents inspected a package from Hong and discovered three killer two-foot cobras crammed into potato chip canisters.
Also in the shipment were three albino Chinese soft-shelled turtles, according to the affidavit.
King cobras, found in rain forests and plains in India, southern China and Southeast Asia, are protected under the Endangered Species Act and their import or export is banned under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
Customs and Border Protection agents seized the snakes, but the turtles were delivered to the suspect’s house in Monterey Park, California.
Federal agents later served a warrant and raided the address and found tanks with a live baby Morelet’s crocodile, alligator snapping turtles, a common snapping turtle, and five diamond back terrapins. All the reptiles are protected under US law.
Franco also admitted to authorities that he had previously received two other parcels with 20 king cobras, but he said all died in transit.