MIAMI , Florida ( CNN ) -- Everyone has heard of the worm at the bottom of the bottle , but what customs officials in Miami found kicked that up a few notches . Customs officials in Miami seized what they believe is `` snake wine , '' poisonous snakes bottled in alcohol . United States Customs and Border Protection officers conducting a routine inspection on Wednesday seized a cobra and other poisonous snakes in a bottle believed to be `` snake wine . '' Customs officials said the snakes , mixed in a glass container containing some form of alcohol , were inside an express mail package from Thailand . Jose Castellano , a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection , said the agency discovered the bizarre beverage during the course of what otherwise would have been an ordinary search . As strange as the tale might seem , Castellano said it was just another day at the office . `` We 're not just at airports checking passports , '' said Castellano , whose officers also confiscated cocaine hidden in a diaper the same day they found the snake wine . `` We check mail , boats and planes to make sure that anything that can be harmful or illegal does not enter the United States , '' he said . `` Based on a risk management system , we decide what packages we look at , depending on where they are from , and a lot of different characteristics that would cause us to look into something , '' Castellano said . The investigation into the unusual cocktail is being handled by the U.S . Fish and Wildlife Service . Importing cobras into the United States is illegal because they are an endangered species . `` It is wildlife that was not declared , '' said Eddie McKissick , a spokesman . `` The issue is that this species of snake is protected by the convention on international trade in endangered species . It applies to live and dead animals . '' `` We see this all the time , '' he added . `` Not just the cobras , sometimes it 's turtles and even dried sea horses . '' Customs officials said the practice of producing an alcoholic beverage that includes a whole venomous snake in the bottle originated in Vietnam and is popular in Southeast Asia . Officials said the entire snake is submerged in the alcohol , often with insects or other animals such as turtles . The snakes , preferably venomous , are not usually preserved for their meat , but to have the snake poison dissolved in the liquor , which is then used for medicinal purposes , officials said . Federal officials said the package was shipped from Thailand to an address in the southeastern United States . Authorities declined to reveal where or to whom the package was destined . `` We 're still gathering facts and have n't determined a course of action , '' McKissick said . The package , like all international mail , was inspected when it reached the regional Customs inspection site in the area for which it is destined . Once inspected , mail is turned over to the U.S . Postal system . McKissick said importation of endangered species into the United States requires a permit and proper procedures have to be followed . `` If you have a demand for a wildlife species , someone has to go out and kill that species , so the regulations apply , '' he said . `` These species require an export permit that they did not have . ''
Customs officials seize container of poisonous snakes in alcohol . `` Snake wine '' popular in Southeast Asia . Officials say they think wine is used for medicinal purposes . Score: 6