Woman finds COBRA inside Amazon package with Xbox controller

Woman finds COBRA inside Amazon package with Xbox controller

• Unusual incident happened in Bengaluru, in Karnataka state, southern India
• The small creature was identified as the highly venomous Spectacled Cobra
• Amazon issued a full refund, but the customer blasted their 'lapse in safety'

One Amazon customer received more than she bargained for when her new Xbox controller came with a venomous snake hidden inside the packaging.

The unusual incident happened in Bengaluru, in Karnataka state, southern India, on Sunday.

Posting a video of the snake, which was identified as a highly venomous Spectacled Cobra, the unlucky customer, a software engineer named Tanvi, simply stated: 'Ordered an Xbox controller from Amazon and received a free snake with it!'

The video, which went viral and has been viewed 14,000 times. shows the Amazon package placed into a bucket, with the small snake entangled in black tape.

On Tuesday, she followed up her thoughts on the incident with a Reddit post, which criticised Amazon for their 'lapse in safety' both for her and the delivery man, who directly handed the package to her and her partner.

She wrote in her post: 'We ordered an Xbox controller 2 days ago from Amazon and received a live snake in the package.

'The package was directly handed over to us by the delivery partner (not left outside). We live on Sarjapur Road and captured the entire incident on camera, plus we have eye witnesses.

'The snake has been ID'd as a possible Spectacled Cobra (Naja Naja), a highly venomous snake species indigenous to Karnataka.'

Fortunately for the couple, the snake became stuck to the packaging tape and was unable to leave the box or cause any harm.

However, they claim they were forced to place the box inside a red bucket and 'handle the situation all by ourselves in the middle of the night', while they were placed on hold by Amazon's customer support team for 'over two hours'.

Tanvi wrote: 'We did receive a complete refund, but what do we get for risking our lives here with a highly venomous snake?

'This is clearly a safety breach caused solely by Amazon's negligence and their poor transportation/warehousing hygiene and supervision.

'Where is the accountability for such a serious lapse in safety?'

Tanvi said she is seeking legal advice on compensation for the incident.

Spectacled Cobras, which are a protected species, are native to the Indian subcontinent and one of the four species responsible for the most snakebite cases in India.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 5 million snakebites occur each year in India, resulting in up to 2.7 million people developing envenoming, a potentially life-threatening disease caused by venom.

Published reports suggest between 81,000 and 138,000 deaths occur each year, while envenoming causes as many as 400,000 amputations and other permanent disabilities, though WHO believes this figure may be under-reported.

Many who saw Tanvi's post on X posted their reactions.

One user joked: 'Buy 1 get 1 free,' while another said: 'Guess you got from amazon... not Amazon,'Economic Times reports.

MailOnline has contacted Amazon India for comment.