A real snakes-on-a-plane incident was thwarted by customs officers at Cairo s airport on Thursday.
The officers detained an Egyptian man who was trying to smuggle 700 live snakes on a plane to Saudi Arabia. The slithery stowaways were discovered in a carry-on bag after officers asked the man to open it. He told them the bag contained live snakes and warned them to stay back.
Among the various snakes hidden in small cloth sacks were two poisonous cobras, authorities said.
The Egyptian, identified as Yahia Rahim Tulba, said he had hoped to sell the snakes in Saudi Arabia.
Police confiscated the snakes and turned Tulba over to the prosecutor s office, accusing him of violating export laws and endangering the lives of other passengers.
Tulba said the snakes are wanted by Saudis who display them in glass jars in shops, keep them as pets or sell them to research centers.
