Snakes bound for dinner plates seized

POLICE in Vietnam have seized more than two tonnes of live snakes and 770kg of tortoises about to be smuggled into China.
Following a tip-off, Customs officers and the environment police stopped a truck about 160km east of Hanoi.

A department official said: "The animals had been illegally imported from Laos and might be bound for Chinese restaurants."

Vietnamese authorities last year seized more than 7700 trafficked wild animals, including rare species.