Customs agents find 5 king cobras in JFK package

<p>&quot;Indiana Jones&quot; and Samuel L. Jackson can breathe a sigh of relief when traveling to New York now that authorities have secured five live snakes found at John F. Kennedy International Airport.&nbsp;</p>

News 12 Staff

Jul 11, 2017, 9:44 PM

Updated 2,644 days ago

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Customs agents find 5 king cobras in JFK package
"Indiana Jones" and Samuel L. Jackson can breathe a sigh of relief when traveling to New York now that authorities have secured five live snakes found at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
United States Customs and Border Protection officers seized a shipment of live snakes at a mail facility in the airport last month, authorities announced Tuesday.
According to a CBP spokesman, officers found the juvenile king cobras in an express mail package from Hong Kong.
The parcel was marked "plastic tray," but X-rays showed what appeared to be snakes inside a round container, the spokesman said. 
CBP agents contacted the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for help, the spokesman said. 
Authorities opened the package and found three geckos in addition to the cobras.
"Our CBP officers perform numerous daily tasks to protect the United States from potential dangers," said Leon Hayward, acting director of CBP's New York field operations. "This seizure demonstrates our wide ranging responsibility in protecting our borders and our partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service."