More than 100 jars of rice wine distilled with pythons, large lizards, cobras and deer have been found at two condo apartments in Hanoi.
The wine had been put up for sale at the two apartments in La Khe Ward of Hanoi’s Ha Dong District.
The owners of the wine could not provide legal papers proving the origins of the product.
One of them, Vu Quang Hien, said “these are just craft products and this whole thing shouldn’t be treated too seriously.”
Hien sells the wine for VND350,000 ($15) to more than VND3 million per jar.
The other owner, Dao Quang Manh, said the distributors told him the animals had been bred by them and that the products aim at treating several health issues, including joint and muscle pains.
“Distributors also told me that the products are legal, and I just buy them for retail. I do not know for sure if I have permission to sell them.”
Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thanh Trung from Hanoi’s environment police division said it would have to work with the city’s Market Management Department and ranger authorities on this case as there are many wild animals that have been killed for rice wine production.