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This smuggler got caught with snakes, turtles and bearded dragons – in his pants!

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A Californian man was arrested after he tried to smuggle 60 reptiles in his pants and other clothing. (Photo: Twitter)
A Californian man was arrested after he tried to smuggle 60 reptiles in his pants and other clothing. (Photo: Twitter)

It's anyone's guess how he managed to sit still but this guy certainly didn't have ants in his pants. Instead he had a whole bunch of slithery and scaly creatures in his trousers.

Jose Manuel Perez was arrested after he hid a variety of reptiles, including snakes and dragons, in his pants to smuggle them across the US border from Mexico.

Jose hid more than 60 reptiles at a time in his jacket pockets, trouser pockets and trouser legs.

READ MORE | When this python measuring 3,5m and weighing 40kg needed help, this Limpopo vet didn't hesitate to jump in

Among the animals he was caught with were Yucatán box turtles, Mexican box turtles, baby crocodiles and Mexican bearded lizards.

Three of the animals were dead when the police apprehended him.

The value of the reptiles was estimated at $739 000 (about R13 million).

(Photo: Twitter)
Among the reptiles he was caught with were Yucatán box turtles, Mexican box turtles, baby crocodiles and Mexican bearded lizards. (Photo: Twitter)

Jose has allegedly been smuggling and selling reptiles from as far back as 2016. Police say he's smuggled up to 1 700 reptiles over the past six years.

They uncovered his dodgy dealings in February when he recruited buyers on social media for animals he had allegedly smuggled from Mexico and Hong Kong to the US. Jose was arrested that month and released on parole.

He was fitted with an ankle monitor as part of his parole conditions, but this did little to deter him.

 (Photo: Getty Images/Gallo Images)
He allegedly transported the reptiles from Mexico to El Paso in Texas. (Photo: Getty Images/Gallo Images)

In March he was nabbed again when he tried to smuggle more reptiles across the US border to Mexico

The 30-year-old is now in custody in Los Angeles and will hear his fate when he's sentenced on 1 December.

Sources: latimes.com, justice.gov, abcnews.go.com

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