Two men in a car were stopped at an entrance to Shanghai for illegally transporting 140 snakes, police said on Friday.Find the latest shanghai breaking news, stories and opinions on politics, business, society, lifestyle and culture, as well as featured stories and multimedia coverage from SHINE.

Police at the Fengjing check station in Songjiang District discovered the suspects at 9:20am on September 16 during regular checks of passing vehicles.

The two men in the car, surnamed Ni and Huang, looked nervous, and the car had a very foul smell, police said.

In the back of the car, police found 17 bags of living snakes, and Ni and Huang failed to provide legal documents for acquiring the snakes or quarantine records.

The two allegedly confessed that they transported the wild snakes from Xiaoshan city, Zhejiang Province, to sell in Baoshan District in Shanghai for 150 yuan (US$22) each.

The snakes they transported have been confirmed to be king rat snakes. In China, king rat snakes can be raised in snake farms and sold as food, but they are not allowed to be captured in the wild without a permit.

The snakes are now being kept at Songjiang District’s animal protection authority. The suspects will be punished according to China’s wild animal protection laws, police said.