Chennai: Customs officers at Chennai airport on Saturday seized 65 star tortoises and four golden Lord Ganesha idols from two passengers.
The officers intercepted Venkadesan, 24, of Chennai who was bound for Bangkok in an AirAsia flight. He was intercepted at the departure terminal after he had cleared immigration.
On questioning whether he was carrying any contraband or foreign currencies or wild life, Venkadesan gave evasive answers. His checked in luggage was recalled and taken up for examination.
The officers found 65 live tortoises in his luggage. They were found concealed in a few small boxes. Later, forest officers identified them as star tortoises, covered under Schedule IV of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and under CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).
The star tortoises and the passenger were handed over to the Tamil Nadu forest department.
On Saturday night, the officers intercepted Rajalingam Mahinthan, 30, a French passport holder, who had arrived here from Paris via Delhi in an Air India flight. As he was evasive in his replies, his checked in luggage was taken up for examination. Four mall Ganesha idols were recovered from his luggage.
The Ganesha idols were silver coated. A gold assayer certified that the idols were made of gold of 12 carat purity. They weighed 4kg and were worth Rs 65 lakh.
07/04/19 Siddharth Prabhakar/Times of India
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The officers intercepted Venkadesan, 24, of Chennai who was bound for Bangkok in an AirAsia flight. He was intercepted at the departure terminal after he had cleared immigration.
On questioning whether he was carrying any contraband or foreign currencies or wild life, Venkadesan gave evasive answers. His checked in luggage was recalled and taken up for examination.
The officers found 65 live tortoises in his luggage. They were found concealed in a few small boxes. Later, forest officers identified them as star tortoises, covered under Schedule IV of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and under CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).
The star tortoises and the passenger were handed over to the Tamil Nadu forest department.
On Saturday night, the officers intercepted Rajalingam Mahinthan, 30, a French passport holder, who had arrived here from Paris via Delhi in an Air India flight. As he was evasive in his replies, his checked in luggage was taken up for examination. Four mall Ganesha idols were recovered from his luggage.
The Ganesha idols were silver coated. A gold assayer certified that the idols were made of gold of 12 carat purity. They weighed 4kg and were worth Rs 65 lakh.
07/04/19 Siddharth Prabhakar/Times of India
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