LOS ANGELES (AP) - A man was arrested on federal smuggling charges Tuesday after customs officers intercepted a shipment with three live king cobras hidden inside potato chip canisters that were being mailed to his California home.
Rodrigo Franco, 34, was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Los Angeles on a charge of illegally importing merchandise. It wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney who could comment on the allegations.
The three king cobra snakes - each about two feet long - were found in March when Customs and Border Protection officers inspected a package that was mailed from Hong Kong, prosecutors said. There were also three albino Chinese soft-shelled turtles in the package, authorities said.
Federal agents removed the cobras but delivered the turtles to Franco's home in Monterey Park.
The agents later served a search warrant there and found tanks with a live baby Morelet's crocodile, alligator snapping turtles, a common snapping turtle, and five diamond back terrapins. Prosecutors say all of the reptiles are protected under U.S. law.
If convicted, Franco faces up to 20 years in prison.