By DPA
Hong Kong : Police in Hong Kong Wednesday said that they had seized 320 snakes and three crates of snapping turtles bound for restaurant tables in China.
The reptiles were found on board a speedboat intercepted in Hong Kong waters early Tuesday near the China Sea boundary. Two men were arrested for smuggling.
The boat contained 20 boxes of common rat snakes, an endangered species worth an estimated $13,500. It was the biggest seizure of snakes in Hong Kong in the last two years, a police spokesman said.
The snakes are expected to be humanely destroyed because officials say there are too many of them to be released into the wild. The snapping turtles will go to an animal welfare centre.
Snakes are a popular winter dish in China and are widely used in traditional medicines. They can be exported to China but only with a valid permit, police said.