DRI detects 18 non-indigenous animals in checked-in baggage with 3 passengers arriving from Bangkok

Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officers intercepted three passengers, including a lady passenger, arriving from Bangkok at the Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru on 22-01-2023, acting on a specific intelligence.

Upon examination of their checked-in baggage resulted in the recovery of non-indigenous 18 animals (4 primates and 14 reptiles) with the assistance of Karnataka Forest Department officials. 10 of these were also included in Appendix II of CITES; The import of wild animals (including their parts and products) as defined in the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (as amended from time to time) is prohibited and those species which are listed in CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) are subject to the provisions of CITES. The animals attempted to be so smuggled by the said passengers were seized under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962.

With the assistance of Karnataka Forest Department authorities and an officer deputed from WCCB Chennai, another 139 animals belonging to 48 different species, including 34 CITES listed species, were recovered from a farmhouse in Bengaluru used as a storage facility for similarly trafficked wildlife. There were no paperwork proving the licit import of wildlife products, nor were there any submissions under the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Climate Change (Wildlife Division), Voluntary Disclosure Scheme until its extended deadline of March 20, 2021. However, evidence of financial activities to source non-indigenous species via smuggling and buy-sell transactions on WhatsApp and other social media platforms has been discovered.

The animals recovered included extremely rare and threatened species such as the Yellow and Green Anacondas, Yellow Headed Amazon Parrot, Nile Monitor, Red Foot Tortoise, Iguanas, Ball Pythons, Alligator Gar, Yaki Monkey, Veiled Chameleon, Racoon Dog, White Headed Piones, and others, which were given to Bannerghatta Biological Park.

So far, four people involved in the smuggling into India have been arrested. Further inquiry into the problem is underway.