138 live pythons seized by Italian police

The reptiles were illegally transported in boxes stored on a vehicle arriving on a ship from Greece. The total commercial value of these seized snakes is around 53,000 euros.

Ancona: Italy's finance police seized 138 live pythons in Ancona port in central Italy on Saturday.

According to police 45 of the snakes seized are Royal Pythons originating from Asia while the rest originated from Africa.

Police said all the pythons seized were endangered species and were transported without the documentation required by the Washington Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species.

The snakes were illegally transported in boxes stored on a vehicle arriving on a ship from Greece.

The reptiles were destined to be sold at the 'Verona Reptiles' fair in northern Italy that begins on October 6.

Police said the total commercial value of the snakes is around 53,000 euros.

The Greece nationals transporting the endangered snakes were legally notified to the Ancona prosecution office for detention and illegal traffic of endangered animal species.

According to police, all the snakes have been transferred to a specialized facility in the Umbria region.