NEWS
Federal agents turn up dozens of venomous snakes in South Valley drug raid
Among his collection, the suspect had most venomous land snake on Earth
Federal agents came across a lot more than cocaine, guns and cash when they searched the home of a suspected drug trafficker in the South Valley last week.
Agents also discovered more than 50 venomous snakes, including pit vipers, cobras and the inland taipan 鈥 the most venomous snake in the world 鈥 according to search warrants unsealed Monday in U.S. District Court for New Mexico.
The New Mexico Department of Wildlife was called in to seize the animals.
According to a department seizure inventory, the snakes included king and spitting cobras, Fer-de-lance, black and green mambas, numerous varieties of pit vipers and reticulated pythons. Many of the snakes, some of which were hatchlings, were in enclosures while others were in large trash cans and plastic tubs.
Bob Myers, owner of the Rattlesnake Museum in Old Town, said 9 out of 10 of the snakes on the list are 鈥渆asily lethal to human beings.鈥
He added, 鈥淚 wouldn't recommend any of them as so-called pets, 鈥 what we would call the 鈥榮uper hots鈥 鈥 the mambas, the taipans, most of the cobras.鈥
Myers, who the Journal reached out to as a snake expert, said the inland taipan tops the list as 鈥渢he most potently venomous land snake in the world.鈥 He said the seized Russell鈥檚 viper is a 鈥渂ig culprit鈥 in the 10,000 to 50,000 snake bite deaths recorded in India every year.
鈥淚 don't know who this person is, but that is a very serious collection of venomous snakes and nonvenomous 鈥 the reticulated pythons get big. They're powerful. They can overcome a human and kill them. So, gosh, that is some list,鈥 Myers said.
The inventory also listed some of the snakes鈥 names, including reticulated pythons 鈥淪unset鈥 and 鈥淲illiam鈥 and monocled white cobras 鈥淏lizzard鈥 and 鈥淧ablo Escobar.鈥
Aside from the snakes, court records show Homeland Security Investigations agents found a half-pound of cocaine, three guns and $22,000 in cash. There was no mention of snakes in the documents supporting the search warrant and it is unclear if the agents knew what they were walking into.
While the search warrant affidavits were unsealed, the Journal is not identifying the suspect since no charges have been filed against him, according to online court records. When asked if the suspect had been charged, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office for New Mexico said 鈥渘o comment.鈥
The case began months ago as a drug investigation.
HSI 鈥渂ecame aware鈥 the suspect was trafficking cocaine in April and had an undercover agent introduce himself to the suspect, according to the affidavit. Between April and May, the suspect met the undercover agent three times, selling multiple ounces of cocaine during each meet.
The affidavit states that after one meeting, the suspect drove erratically and conducted a 鈥渉eat run鈥 鈥 measures taken to determine if you鈥檙e being followed 鈥 leading agents to stop following him. In June and July, according to agents, the undercover set up a future meet to buy a half-kilo from the suspect, who said he 鈥渕ust first contact his associate before he could conduct the sale.鈥
鈥淎gents believe the associate (suspect) referred to is his source of supply,鈥 according to the affidavit. 鈥淭he meet is scheduled to take place on July 15. 鈥 Agents intend to arrest (suspect) during the meet, and then if approved, execute this warrant that is being sought.鈥
Agents searched the home on July 22.
It is unclear what became of the snakes. A Department of Wildlife spokesperson did not respond to multiple questions.
Myers said he sees such collections with people who show them off, using social media and getting followers 鈥 sometimes for money. And sometimes, he said, they get bit.
Local hospitals would not have antivenom for most of the snakes listed, Myers said, except for at zoos that house them. He noted that only a few zoos in the country probably housed some of the snakes that were seized.
Myers said a bite from many of them and 鈥渢hat would be it.鈥
鈥淭hese private keepers are really putting their life on the line if they don't have antivenin,鈥 he said. Myers said, in general, you can own certain venomous snakes with a proper license but laws vary.
He said he always encourages people to stick to the zoo and museum to get close to such animals, places where they are never handled directly. Myers said, 鈥淚n fact, if any of my employees or volunteers were to touch a rattlesnake, that'd be their last day here.鈥
鈥淚 do get a lot of people in here, men and women, that think it's a good idea to keep venomous snakes as pets, and I talk them through it 鈥 but when it comes down to really discouraging people, I mentioned to them the cost of a hospital visit,鈥 he said, adding that treatment can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
鈥淓ven if you survive, the bill is going to kill you.鈥