Snakes on a plane: Passenger caught with serpents in pants at Miami Airport

The saying "to have a snake in one's pocket" conveys a negative impression of someone. However, keeping snakes in one's pants can be even more problematic. A passenger at Miami Airport who attempted to board an international flight learned this the hard way.

To his astonishment, the airport's security systems promptly detected the unusual presence in his attire. It didn't take long for him to confess to concealing a bag of snakes in his pants.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) shared a photograph featuring two tiny, pink snakes removed from the bag.

The reptiles were subsequently handed over to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, prompting the involvement of police and customs officers at the site.

A TSA spokesperson disclosed in an interview with "The Independent" that the apprehended individual was indeed scheduled for an international flight.

"He virtually disclosed having snakes in his pants as soon as the alarms sounded," the spokesperson remarked.

The fate of the man who attempted to smuggle snakes remains unknown, as the authorities withhold his identity and intended destination.

Although smuggling live animals through airports isn't a daily occurrence, there have been several instances where passengers attempted to board planes with prohibited wildlife. Some attempts were even successful.

Last year, a woman at the Indian airport in Madras managed to smuggle 22 snakes and a chameleon aboard. Meanwhile, in January of this year, a passenger at the international airport in Phuket, Thailand, bypassed a checkpoint with a snake known as "Blanford's whip snake."

The presence of the escaped reptile caused quite a commotion among the airport crowd.

Looking back at Florida, in January 2023, TSA agents in Tampa discovered a thirteen-foot boa constrictor in a passenger's luggage, claimed to be his "emotional support animal".