Turkish customs officials found 33 pythons on a train traveling from Bulgaria to Turkey, Nova TV reported.
The operation was at the Kapakule border crossing.
The snakes were hidden under a passenger’s bed. Two of the reptiles were already dead upon physical examination.
Each of the pythons was netted and covered with a coat.
A Turkish citizen is suspected and detained for the illegal traffic.
Pre-trial proceedings have been initiated against the suspect, and the pythons have been handed over to conservationists.
The man who tried to smuggle the reptiles into Turkey has been fined more than 26,000 Turkish liras by the Edirne Branch Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks.
This is not the first case of foiled snake smuggling on Kapukule. In June of this year, 32 small pythons were found in a truck that entered Turkey from Bulgaria.
Photo/Stop motion: New TV