Associated Press

Bangkok, March 11:

Eighty-two deadly snakes have apparently been stolen from a Red Cross facility in Bangkok, and police fear they were destined for the stew pots. The 82 King Cobras had been kept with other poisonous snakes at the Red Cross’s compound in downtown Bangkok, where they are milked for their poison to be used as serum for snakebite medicine. On January 13, workers discovered that 32 cobras were missing. A week later, 30 more were gone. After 20 more snakes went missing on February 2, Red Cross veterinarian Montri Chiewbamrungkiet filed a complaint with the police.

Police said today they suspect a Red Cross employee stole the cobras, which have never escaped through the steel nets enclosing the cement pits where they lived. “The veterinarian said he believed that the missing snakes had already gone into cooking pots, and that the thief who stole them must be someone who knows how to handle snakes,” said police Lt Col Vichien Vatchirasaeng. Snake is regarded as a delicacy by many Asians - particularly Chinese, who believe it has medicinal qualities. Ten workers at the facility were interrogated but denied involvement in the snakes’ disappearance. Police planned to question them again next week with lie detector machines, Vichien said.