A 37-year-old suspect had stuffed a snake into a bin near a passenger seat, with the animal sealed inside a plastic bag tied off at the top. A train conductor spotted her and called police. When the bin was checked, officers found the snake among the rest of the rubbish. The alleged owner was tracked down a few carriages further along.
She told Dortmund officers that she had wanted to get rid of the animal after a year because it had become "too boring and too expensive". Her plan, she said, had been to pretend she had come across the snake in the bin and then hand it over to train staff.
The woman was released by police, but is now under investigation for breaching animal protection laws. The snake, a Pantherophis guttatus, also known as a corn snake, is non-venomous and was handed over to the Bochum fire brigade.
