TSA agent finds live snakes in luggage at California airport

Video by the Transportation Security Administration shows the moment officers discovered two live snakes inside a checked bag at California's Ontario International Airport in October.

TSA said the snakes were discovered during a routine inspection of a bag.  

X-ray images showed what appeared to be a rope but turned out to be two live snakes concealed in a pillowcase.

"When I realized the item in my hand was alive, I told myself, 'I need to escalate this immediately,'" said TSA Officer Benjamin Andrade-Carillo, who discovered the pillowcase.

Andrade-Carillo notified a supervisor who further inspected the pillowcase. Supervisory TSA Officer Suggey Flores said he felt the pillowcase tense up and start moving.

"I have held snakes before, so I wasn't too spooked," Flores said. "I was more impressed, because it's not something you see every day."

After the discovery of the snakes, TSA said screening operations in the immediate area were paused due to safety concerns.

"Safety was a concern because we didn't know what kind of snakes they were," Flores said. "They could have been venomous."

Airport police took possession of the bag and brought it to the airline ticketing area. The passenger removed the snakes and gave them to a non-traveling family member, TSA said.

After the snakes were removed, TSA rescreened the bag and the passenger was cleared for travel.

According to the Los Angeles TSA Coordination Center, the passenger said the snakes were pets and he had previously traveled with them on another airline.

"In my two years of service, I had not found anything like this," Andrade-Carillo said. "In San Diego, I experienced a gentleman trying to bring live lobsters as a carry-on."

TSA encourages travelers to contact their airline before traveling with pets to understand the carrier's rules and requirements.