600 deadly cobras saved from dining table

Thai Customs officials have seized over 600 cobras saving them from ending on dinner tables.

The deadly cobras were seized when the customs officials discovered them in crates on a truck when it was flagged down at a check point in the south of the country.

Benja Louichareon, director-general of the Excise Department, said the 600 snakes, with an estimated value of about 9 lakh rupees were seized in Pranburi district of Prachuap Khiri Khan province.

It was believed that the shipment was being shipped to another country via southern Thailand. The cobras were detected hidden inside a black Nissan pickup truck.
The driver confessed that he had done this many times transporting the snakes from Malaysia to Nakhon Ratchasima province.

The Customs Department chief said that the cobras were likely on their way to another country where they are considered to be an aphrodisiac delicacy.

The driver has been charged with a violation of the Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act. The seized cobras are now under the care of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife and Plant Conservation.