Man held over reptile smuggling

Malaysian airport security have arrested a convicted wildlife smuggler after finding almost 100 live reptiles in his luggage, the country's Wildlife and National Parks Department said.

Anson Wong, already convicted of trafficking in wildlife in the United States, was in transit from the Malaysian island state of Penang to the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Thursday when Malaysia Airlines staff at Kuala Lumpur airport were alerted to a bag that had broken while on a conveyor belt.

The department, in a statement issued this weekend, said its enforcement officers found 95 boa constrictors, two rhinoceros vipers and a matamata turtle inside the luggage.

Under Malaysian law, if found guilty, Wong could face seven years in jail and fines of up to $32,000 (20,000) for each animal.