Authorities arrested a New York man after he tried to smuggle three Burmese pythons in his pants while crossing into the United States from Canada, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
The Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York says Calvin Bautista, 36, from Queens, New York, smuggled the snakes in his pants while crossing into the U.S. on a bus at the Champlain Port of Entry in New York.
Custom and Border Protection officials noticed “visible bulges” in the man’s pants while inspecting a Greyhound bus on July 15, 2018, an agency spokesperson told USA TODAY in a statement.
“Further inspection revealed python snakes concealed in fabric bags,” the statement read.
Bautista violated several federal codes, according to an indictment filed in August. He faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, a fine up to $250,000, and a 3-year term of supervised release if convicted, according to the Justice Department.
Bautista was arraigned in federal court Tuesday.
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