New York City man charged with smuggling 3 Burmese pythons in pants

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New York City man charged with smuggling 3 Burmese pythons in pants

ALBANY, N.Y. — A New York City man has been charged with smuggling three Burmese pythons in his pants at a U.S. border crossing.

Calvin Bautista, 36, is accused of bringing the hidden snakes on a bus that crossed into northern New York on July 15, 2018. The importation of Burmese pythons is regulated by an international treaty and federal regulations listing them as injurious to human beings. Bautista, of Queens, was arraigned Tuesday in Albany on a federal smuggling charge and released on a pending trial, according to a news release from the office of U.S. attorney Carla B. Freedman.

The charge can lead to a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine as high as $250,000, according to federal prosecutors.

The Burmese python, one of the world's largest snakes, is considered a vulnerable species in its native Asia and invasive in Florida, where it threatens native animals.