Marmosets, Tamarins, Iguanas Smuggled in from Bangkok Seized at Chennai Airport | Sicp
Channel: Sicp
Date: 2020-01-22

Marmosets, Tamarins, Iguanas Smuggled in from Bangkok Seized at Chennai Airport | Sicp


CHENNAI: Customs officials at Chennai airport on Tuesday busted a racket involved in smuggling exotic animals. 

Marmosets, red-handed tamarins, tricolour squirrels and iguanas were seized from a passenger who arrived from Bangkok. The courier, a receiver and another person were detained. 

Tamarins being smuggled in from Bangkok

Based on information that wild animals were likely to be smuggled from Bangkok, air intelligence officers maintained vigil to catch the smuggler. They noticed a man moving in a rather suspicious manner in the arrival area. A close watch was kept on his movement. The man collected his checked-in stroller bag and began to walk in a hurried manner. The man, identified as Suresh, 35, of Chennai, was intercepted at the exit. 


Iguanas being smuggled in from Bangkok

His bag contained four plastic baskets and one small cardboard box in which monkeys, rodents and reptiles were being ferried. When questioned, he informed that the stroller bag had been given to him by someone outside the Bangkok airport with instructions to hand it over to a man outside Chennai airport. 

Suresh was taken outside the airport and one man, the receiver, who approached him to collect the bag was detained. On information given by the receiver, a search was conducted at the residence of the organiser in Chennai who has also been detained for further investigation. 

Veterinary doctors were called from Arignar Anna Zoological Park. They found three squirrels dead and said the other animals were healthy. 

Animal quarantine officials recommended deportation of the species back to country of origin as the passenger did not have any NOC/ DGFT licence for import into India. 

Customs officials seize wildlife species at airport, detain three

Customs officials seized several wildlife species, including marmosets, red-handed tamarins, tricolored-squirrels and iguanas, at the Chennai international airport on Tuesday and detained three persons.

Officials from the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau found them in containers. There were two marmosets, three red-handed tamarins, two Prevost’s squirrels, two black and red eastern gray squirrels and 12 Iguanas. The Animal Quarantine Officials recommended that the animals be sent back to country of origin as there was no NOC/DGFT license for their import into India.

This News Covered From Chennai District Reporter (Tamil) From South Indian Crime Point Weekly. For More Details Pl Visit : http://www.southindiancrimepoint.com/ or http://sicp.co.in  or http://sicp.in or https://twitter.com/crimepoint or https://www.facebook.com/crimepoint or https://south-indian-crime-point-webtv.blogspot.com/