Officials in Ho Chi Minh City’s Thu Duc District on Wednesday morning found 18 pythons being illegally transported on a truck from Dong Nai province.

The driver Le Huy Tung, 45, hailing from Bien Hoa, Dong Nai was not able to prove the legal origin of the shipment.

One of the pythons was found dead and the shipment’s real owner was later identified as Nguyen Viet Thao, 58, a Dong Nai native. The heaviest python weighs 30kg.

Dang Thi Tuyet, head of Thu Duc Quarantine Station, confirmed with Tuoi Tre today that the pythons will be handed over to the city’s Forest Management Department to determine whether they are domestic or wild.

Wild pythons are listed under Group 2B of Vietnam’s wildlife protection law, which prohibits hunting and trade without a legal permit.

Also this morning, HCMC officials seized nearly 300 kilograms of beef and pork without legal papers transported on two other trucks from Dong Nai province.