KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- A wildlife trader is under investigation for illegally possessing 115 Asiatic cobras which were crammed into several cages in his shop in Simpang Empat, northern Perlis state, Malaysia, local media reported on Wednesday.

    Malaysia's Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) officers seized the snakes, which are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, in a raid on the shop on Monday.

    The 55-year-old trader had obtained the snakes illegally and also flouted animal cruelty laws, the department's legal and enforcement division deputy director Celescoriano Razond said at a press conference at the Perlis Perhilitan conservation center in Sungai Batu Pahat, Perlis.

    If found guilty, he could be fined 3,000 ringgit (901 U.S. dollars) or jailed for three years under the act for illegal possession of snakes, and fined 5,000 ringgit (1502 U.S. dollars) or jailed for three years or both on the cruelty offense.

    The trader had underdeclared the number of snakes in his possession, said Razond.

    "His log book stated that he had only about 1,400 snakes in his shop. However, we found he had well over 1,500.

    "The snakes were crammed into several cages. There were up to 30 snakes in a single cage," the New Straits Times quoted Razond as saying.

    The 115 snakes would be released back into the wild in various locations, Razond said.

    The trader was a middleman for wildlife smugglers who were going to take the snakes to China, he said.

    Wildlife officers had been monitoring the trader's premises for two weeks before carrying out the raid.