Passengers on a plane two days ago from Cairo to the Kingdom could have been in for a real-life version of the much-hyped 2006 scary movie “Snakes on a Plane”. As some readers may have seen in yesterday’s edition, an Egyptian man was stopped by customs officers at the Cairo airport just as he was about to board the flight with 700 snakes in his hand luggage, including deadly cobras.

Congratulations to the customs officers for the prompt action. However, the first thought of most people on hearing the story would be one of horror at what might have been. Luggage accidentally opening; snakes slithering out in their hundreds; cobras at ten thousand meters; passengers and crew bitten; other passengers having heart attacks. The idea was frightening enough on screen (especially to those who did not see the film) but the cult movie was a fantasy. It would not happen in real life, would it? But it almost did, en route to Saudi Arabia: A genuine case of life imitating art — or even life imitating legend: The ancient Greek historian Herodotus wrote of “Winged Serpents” living in Arabia’s incense-trees. In his case, though, they had their own wings and would fly from Arabia to Egypt, not the other way around.

But there is a serious point. The Egyptian passenger said that he was bringing the snakes to sell them. Saudis, he said, keep them as pets or on display in jars in shops or sell them on to research centers. He is not making it up. Many people may think that there are enough snakes here without bringing in more (in fact only three are poisonous and the most deadly, the yaym or Walterinnesia aeygiptia, the Desert Cobra, is very rare; they may want the greatest distance possible between them and humans.)

But there is a market for snakes and other exotic animals. Given the rise in burglary in Riyadh, many would be tempted to keep snakes in the house. Snakes can make for a very effective deterrent against burglars (and are kept for that purpose by more eccentric homeowners in other countries) — although there is an obvious drawback to keeping a live cobra in the house.

But these are endangered species and have all been smuggled in, probably by plane. The law is being flouted and something must be done about it.

Saudi Arabia signed up to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in 1996. Two years ago, a CITES report named the Kingdom, along with Cambodia and Nigeria, as one of three members doing almost nothing to counter the illegal trade in endangered animals. The smuggling of tigers and orangutan were specifically mentioned. The smuggling of falcons into the Kingdom is another issue.

We must take action to stop all illicit trade in animals. CITES has already provided names and addresses of those allegedly involved in many of the cases but nothing seems to have been done. Thursday’s incident in Cairo may appear not all that serious, but it highlights a trade that should not be happening.