Man Admits Sneaking Snakes Over Canada-US Border In Socks

The Canadian Press, 04 Oct, 2017 10:47 AM

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A Mississauga, Ont., resident who as caught trying to sneak snakes into Canada in his socks has pleaded guilty.

Federal prosecutors in Buffalo, N.Y., say 28-year-old Chaoyi Le faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday to violating wildlife regulations. Sentencing is set for Oct. 30.

He was arrested in 2014 at the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge in western New York after Canadian border agents discovered three live albino western hognose snakes hidden in his socks.

At first, Le said he'd found them in a New York park, but eventually admitted buying them.

Authorities say Le, a Chinese citizen who lives in Mississauga, was trying to avoid a U.S. Fish and Wildlife inspection.

Court documents say that on the same day, Le also mailed several snakes from New York to China.

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