Smuggling King Cobras In Potato Chip Cans Comes Back To Bite LA Man: Feds

LOS ANGELES, CA — An alleged scheme to ship king cobras through the mail came back to bite a Los Angeles man when customs agents discovered the highly venomous reptiles jammed into potato chip canisters.

Rodrigo Franco, a 34-year-old Monterey Park man, was arrested Tuesday on federal smuggling charges. According to a federal affidavit filed in Los Angeles last week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection was inspecting a package sent from Hong Kong on March 2 when they discovered three live king cobras, each nearly 2 feet long. King cobras are a protected species. In addition to the three snakes, the parcel also contained three albino Chinese soft-shelled turtles, according to prosecutors.

The discovery set into motion a sting operation by special agents with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

According to the affidavit, Franco also allegedly mailed six protected turtles — desert box turtles, three-toed box turtles and ornate box turtles — from the United States to Hong Kong in trade for the snakes, but that shipment also was intercepted by the USFWS.

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Because of the danger associated with the cobras, the snakes were seized from the package that had come from Hong Kong. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service made a controlled delivery of the soft-shelled turtles to Franco's home. Immediately after the package was delivered, federal agents executed a search warrant at the residence.

While searching the home, agents found the package that originated in Hong Kong in a child's bedroom, in which they also discovered a tank containing a live baby crocodile and tanks containing alligator snapping turtles, a common snapping turtle and five diamond-back terrapins, all of which are protected species, according to the affidavit.

During a subsequent interview with authorities, Franco allegedly admitted that he had previously received 20 king cobras in two prior shipments, but he said all of those snakes had died in transit, prosecutors said.

During the ensuing investigation, authorities obtained evidence from Franco's phone, which contained messages in which he and someone in Asia allegedly discussed shipping turtles and snakes between the United States and Asia. According to the complaint, the messages indicate that Franco had previously received live cobras from his contact in Asia and was going to give five of the snakes to a relative of his contact.

Franco is charged with one felony count of illegally importing merchandise into the United States, which carries a possible sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison.

City News Service contributed to this report. Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife via AP