Champlain, N.Y. — A Queens man was charged Tuesday with attempting to smuggle three Burmese pythons across the U.S.-Canadian border, federal prosecutors said.
Calvin Bautista, 36, stuffed the snakes in his pants, according to a news release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York.
Bautista rode a bus with the snakes before crossing the border into the U.S., prosecutors said. He was discovered at a the port of entry in the town of Champlain in Clinton County, they said.
Bautista was arraigned in Albany Tuesday in federal court, prosecutors said. He was charged with smuggling goods into the U.S. and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison with a fine up to $250,000, prosecutors said.
Staff writer Fernando Alba covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, story idea, question or comment? Reach him at 315-690-6950, at falba@syracuse.com, or on Twitter at @byfernandoalba.