A cabby found this baby ball python, estimated to cost more than $1,000 and believed to have been smuggled into Singapore as an illegal pet, in his taxi boot on Jul 29.

According to the Straits Times, the python had been inside a grey velvet bag that looked like a typical pouch for a pair of headphones.

The pouch was tucked inside a paper bag that also contained a camera data card and old receipts, which Cabby John Ng had found at 3am.

He said he had not noticed anything unusual when he dropped the items off at the lost and found, and could only recall that the passengers who last opened his boot were three Chinese men in their 40s who appeared tipsy.

ComfortDelGro customer service officer Gilda Mendoza, who handles items found in cabs, had found the snake measuring half an arm's length while logging items at the lost and found department.

"I didn't know what was inside but just screamed and tossed the pouch on the table," said the 41-year-old when she saw the pouch move.

Yesterday, animal welfare group Animal Concerns Research and Education Society took the snake back to its shelter, which houses creatures rescued from the illegal wildlife trade.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority said it will be looking into the case. In the last three years, it has dealt with 19 cases of illegal trade or possession of live snakes or their parts.