A man sells boa constrictors from his parents' Brooklyn basement and makes tens of thousands of dollars even though the reptiles are illegal in New York City, according to a published report.
Mark Scott tells the New York Post that he ships the snakes -- at up to $3,000 apiece -- from the Greenpoint home in simple cardboard boxes labeled "Handle With Care."
Scott said keeping and selling the snakes -- some of which grow to be 8 feet long -- is his "passion." He has been dealing them for two years, the Post said, and ships them around the world.
“I’m not letting anyone take my stuff,” Scott told The Post. “This is a passion to me. If they’re going to lock me up, I swear to you they’re going to lock me up.”
Local
The New York City Health Department refused to answer NBC 4 New York's questions about the snake seller on Monday.
He vowed he would just move upstate with his snakes if authorities ever busted him.
“The minute the guy knocks on my door and says something, the next day, these are gone,” he said. “I’ll never, ever lose my animals. I’ve got $46,600 invested in the snakes and another $10,000 that I know of invested in cages.”
