A man from New York City caught trying to smuggle three Burmese pythons in his pants has been sentenced to a year’s probation and fined US$5,000 (S$6,700).

Calvin Bautista, 38, was indicted in 2022 after he confessed to attempting to smuggle the reptiles – listed as among the world’s most vulnerable – over the United States border in July 2018.

Bautista, from Queens, could have faced a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to US$250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to three years.

He was caught as he was travelling on a bus crossing the US-Canada border at the Champlain port of entry in Clinton County, New York.

The snakes were discovered by Customs and border protection officials inside a small bag attached to his pants, near his inner thigh.

Burmese pythons are native to Asia, but a large population of them now exists in the Florida Everglades – a subtropical wetland ecosystem – and other areas after Hurricane Andrew hit Florida in 1992.

The hurricane destroyed a Burmese python breeding facility in the state, releasing the snakes it housed into the wild.

The snakes are considered an invasive species in the state as they have few predators there and have since posed a threat to local wildlife.

In Florida, Burmese pythons typically range from 1.8m to 2.7m long, although a python that was more than 5.5m long was once discovered.