By Ebi Kesiena
Authorities of Cairo International Airport have detained an Egyptian passenger who hid 73 snakes in cloth bags inside his luggage upon his arrival from the Omani capital, Muscat.
According to reports, at first the passenger attempted to dodge the customs employees and smuggle the snakes, but he was caught and legal measures were taken regarding him.
While the airport’s customs employee was inspecting the passenger’s bag, he noted that he touched some warm objects in the passenger’s bag which turned out to be a group of snakes under the passenger’s clothes much to his shock.
Due to the shock, the employee had to be calmed down while authorities made sure that he was not exposed to snake bites.
After further inspection, 11 cloth bags containing 73 snakes, of which 48 were alive, and 25 dead, were found inside the passenger’s luggage in addition to two turtles.
However, in Egyptian mythology, the snake symbol represented royalty and divinity. It symbolized the pharaoh’s role as lawmaker and maintainer of order, protecting the Egyptian people from the forces of chaos, the snake was also seen as a symbol of protection.
From the earliest records of civilisation, it is clear that snakes played a significant cultural role as an enigmatic creature with supernatural powers, alternatively seen as benevolent creator and protector of wisdom and eternal life, or perpetrator of evil and agent of death.
