A passenger bus journey from Dar es Salaam to Nairobi was thrown into confusion at the Namanga One Stop Border Post after border officials uncovered a live snake hidden inside cargo that had been declared as vehicle spare parts.
The discovery, made during routine inspection on Wednesday morning, led to the immediate arrest of the bus crew and seizure of the vehicle as authorities moved in to establish the source and intention behind the consignment.
The bus, which was transiting from Tanzania into Kenya, was flagged by a joint team of customs officers and border security personnel during standard clearance procedures. Attention was drawn to a wooden box that had been listed as containing motor vehicle parts.
At first, the bus crew told officers that the package was a toolbox, but a closer inspection changed the situation entirely when a live snake was found concealed inside the box. Officials from the Kenya Wildlife Service were later called in to take charge of the reptile.
“In the normal course of clearance of the passenger bus that was transiting from Tanzania into Nairobi, members of the joint operations committee intercepted a box that had been consigned from Tanzania to Kenya and was said to contain motor vehicle spares,” a customs official said.
The situation escalated after officers confirmed that the contents of the package had been misdeclared, prompting further action at the border point.
“The owner of the consignment has not been established, but we have the contacts. The bus driver and the conductor have been arrested and are held in custody at the Namanga police station,” a police officer added.
The bus was subsequently impounded and remains at the police station while investigators continue to piece together how the animal was placed on a passenger transport vehicle and who was behind the shipment.
“We have witnessed something we have never seen all our lives. Instead of a bus carrying passengers, it was carrying a snake,” one witness remarked.
The unusual discovery quickly became a talking point among onlookers and online users, with concerns raised about the risks such cargo could have posed to passengers if it had gone undetected.
“It’s high time customs starts sensitising transport stakeholders about pet handling and clearing processes. Imagine if the animal had found its way to the passenger compartment,” one user commented.
Others questioned the motive behind the attempted movement of the reptile, while some dismissed the idea entirely.
“Why would someone try to smuggle a snake? Such a useless creature,” another commenter said.
The incident comes months after a separate seizure at the same border point, where police intercepted bhang worth Sh2.5 million being ferried by a bus belonging to the same company, also heading to Nairobi.