Vietnam has seized more than a ton of ratsnakes found aboard a Vietnam Airlines flight from Bangkok, the second time in about a month such snakes were found in air cargo to Vietnam, state media said on Friday.

The snakes -- scientific name Ptyas Mucosus and a protected species -- were found in more than 60 boxes that arrived in Hanoi's Noi Bai airport on Thursday, the Vietnam News Agency quoted officials as saying. "There is a great possibility that Vietnam is only a transit point of the cargo," it said, adding that the snakes were transferred to an animal caring station nearby.

Last month, the airport authorities also seized 1,550 pounds of snakes aboard a Thai Airways flight to Hanoi, it said.