Lang Son police released 81 kilos of snakes back into the wild on Thursday, rescuing them from being smuggled into China. 

They found 12 bags containing Indo-Chinese rat snakes and radiated rat snakes gathered at a vacant land lot in Phu Xa Commune of Cao Loc District in Lang Son, a northern province that borders China.

The owner, Hoang Tuan Anh, 29, a Lang Son resident, failed to submit papers on the snakes' origins. He said he bought the snakes from a local resident and was about to sell them to China.

The snakes were released into the natural forests in Lang Son. In China, as well as many parts of Asia including Vietnam, snakes can be used for food and as medicine.