Nature has provided an abundance of slithering assailants to watch out for: rattlesnakes, copperheads, water moccasins and coral snakes in the United States; kraits in Southeast Asia; taipans in Australia; Nikolsky’s vipers in Ukraine; Gaboon vipers with 2-inch-long fangs in Africa, and bushmasters in Central America.

The Gaboon vipers, originally from central Africa, were worth approximately $900.

Gaboon vipers have the longest fangs of any venomous snake, and their bite can be fatal, according to the Smithsonian National Zoo.

Rance had legally imported 100 Gaboon vipers and other venomous snakes from Africa to Atlanta, but possessed and sold the reptiles in violation of Georgia laws.

In spring 2017, for example, Gutierrez helped transport 30 African spurred tortoises, 11 Gaboon vipers and four black-necked spitting cobras into Mexico.