Snakes, Birds Were All Dead, But Still...

Screeners at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport got a bit of shock last month when they discovered something unusual in the luggage of a Korean Air passenger.

Inside several boxes checked August 15 was a bird, several... bird pieces... and about 30 snakes packed in jars and bottles, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Jon Allen, spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration, said the all the animals were dead, but precautions were still taken.

"We contacted US Fish and Wildlife, and they warned us some of them probably still contained venom," he said.

TSA officials do not know what the man from South Korea intended to use the carcasses for.

"I have found snakes before but what surprised me about this was how many there were," said TSA officer Christopher Hendricks, one of three officers who made the discovery.

TSA contacted the US Fish and Wildlife Service because the snakes are protected by the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species.

FWS spokesperson Jeff Fleming said the case is still under investigation.

"We're still trying to determine what these things were going to be used for," he said. "Right now our agents are a little leery about speculating on that."

The unidentified passenger could be facing a possible fine.

FMI: www.atlanta-airport.com, www.fws.gov, www.koreanair.com