Laurence DollimoreA BOA constrictor has been confiscated from an expat who was offering pics with the serpent for cash on the Costa del Sol.
The 35-year-old, from Slovakia, was charging tourists and locals €5 per snap on La Malagueta beach in Malaga.
His friend was displaying a blackboard which said the price would jump to €8 for two people.
The pair were allegedly unaware that what they were doing was illegal, considering that the boa constrictor is a protected species included in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
The Slovakian said he owned the snake for seven years and that he bought it in the UK.
He claimed it was recently brought over to Spain but did not have any documents proving his purchase.
The unnamed man was carrying the snake in a leather bag, which police said had a hole in it that the creature could have easily escaped through.
It was classified by the authorities as a wild animal and has been transferred to the Zoosanitary Centre.
