Chinese smuggler admits hiding live snakes in his socks – no, they weren’t garter snakes

A man who was caught trying to sneak snakes into Canada in his socks has pleaded guilty.

Federal prosecutors in Buffalo say 28-year-old Le Chaoyi faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday to violating wildlife regulations.

He was arrested in 2014 at the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge in western New York after Canadian border agents discovered three live albino western hognose snakes hidden in his socks. At first, Le said he’d found them in a New York park, but eventually admitted buying them.

Authorities say Le, a Chinese citizen who lives in Mississauga, Ontario, was trying to avoid a US Fish and Wildlife inspection.

Court documents say that on the same day, Le also mailed several snakes from New York to China.

Sentencing is set for October 30.