NYC Man Accused of Smuggling Burmese Pythons Over Border in His Pants

According to federal prosecutors, 36-year-old Calvin Bautista could face up to 20 years behind bars for allegedly smuggling Burmese pythons over the U.S.-Canadian border in his pants.

As reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Queens, New York man has been charged with smuggling goods into the U.S. after it was discovered he had three pythons in his pants when he arrived at the Champlain Port of Entry in New York in July 2018. He had traveled across the border in a bus from Canada, although it’s unclear where he acquired the trouser snakes. WIVT/WBGH reported that Bautista is from Richmond Hill in Queens.

If found guilty, he’s facing up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. Investigators said that Bautista did not have the proper permits to allow the transportation of the animals, and had not received permission to do so, either.

Burmese pythons are considered “injurious to human beings” by the Secretary of the Interior, and have been known to grow up to 16 feet in length. The snakes are listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s threatened species list.

While non-venomous, the snake has already become an invasive species in the state of Florida due to the pet trade. Per the Fort Myers News-Press, a record-breaking snake that measured almost 18-foot long was captured by conservancy biologists earlier this year. The 215-pound female was with 122 eggs at the time of her capture. The species is native to southern and southeastern Asia.