NEW DELHI — Indian customs officers at Mumbai airport intercepted a passenger from Thailand carrying 16 live snakes, marking the third wildlife smuggling case from Thailand this month.

The smuggled reptiles, mostly non-venomous species popular in the exotic pet trade — including garter snakes, a rhino rat snake, and a Kenyan sand boa — were seized and the passenger arrested.

Earlier in June, officials stopped two other travellers from Thailand attempting to smuggle venomous vipers and over 100 exotic animals. Wildlife watchdog TRAFFIC flagged the growing trend as alarming, noting over 7,000 animals have been seized on the Thailand-India route in the past three and a half years.