A live snake was caught on the tarmac at Auckland Airport on Sunday after hitching a ride on a private jet.
MPI say they suspect the snake is a brown tree snake which isn't considered harmful to humans but could "severely harm" New Zealand's native bird population.
An MPI snake handler was quickly on the scene and managed to capture the unwanted stowaway.
“It appears the snake had crawled into the wheel housing of a private jet that arrived from Brisbane,” says MPI manager Craig Hughes.
“We don’t have a snake population in New Zealand. Biosecurity officials are doing their best to make sure it stays that way.
“This is clearly a one-off hitchhiker.”
They say the aircraft was stationed in Brisbane for six weeks before coming to New Zealand.
Newshub.
