Three passengers arriving from Bangkok to Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport were apprehended by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials on January 22 after their luggage was screened. Acting on specific intelligence inputs, the DRI checked their checked-in baggage, which resulted in the recovery of 18 non-indigenous animals, including 14 reptiles.
The animals attempted to be smuggled by the said passengers were seized under the provisions of the Customs Act.
In an unheard-of seizure by the authorities, they recovered several rare species from the trio flying from Thailand. The seizure was done with the assistance of Karnataka Forest Department officials.
The illegal transportation of wild animals, including their parts and products, as defined as an offence under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, is prohibited. Those species, listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), are subject to provisions of CITES.
The authorities said that in a follow-up action and with the assistance of Karnataka Forest Department officials, another 139 animals belonging to 48 different species, including 34 CITES-listed species, were recovered from a farmhouse in Bengaluru used as a place of storage of similarly smuggled wildlife.
28/01/23 Tanseem Haider/India Today
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