Bangkok-Bengaluru Airasia Passenger Arrested For Smuggling Baby Kangaroo, Over 230 Reptiles
Date
8/23/2023 7:08:49 AM
(MENAFN- Live Mint) "An AirAsia passenger was arrested after his suitcase was filled with over 230 live reptiles including a dead baby kangaroo, media reports have stated. The 32-year old's luggage was examined by customs at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport and as per reports, he was travelling from Bangkok to Bengaluru from Thai AirAsia's flight FD 137.As per Times of India report, he has been identified as a resident of Tamil Nadu.Reports also stated that the baby Kangaroo died due to suffocation, apart from this he also smuggled 234 reptiles including turtles, snakes, lizards, cobras, crocodiles, tortoises.\"In one of the containers, there was something that looked like a small dog. We opened it and were stunned to find that it was a baby kangaroo concealed inside. Sadly, it had died due to suffocation within the suitcase,\" an investigating officer said as quoted by TOI.He was quickly arrested and a subsequent examination of his suitcase revealed additional species which were alive and have been safely handed over to the forest department.During the interrogation, the suspect told the Customs that he was unaware of its contents and the bag had been given to him in Bangkok and was instructed to transport it to Bengaluru, airport sources told TOI.Earlier in July, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) successfully thwarted an elaborate attempt to smuggle 306 live exotic animals into India through air cargo at Mumbai airport on Friday, an official had said as reported by ANI. The seized animals included variendangered species such as turtles, tortoises, crabs, alligator gar, and stingrays.“Among the confiscated animals were rare species of Turtles, including the Yellow Spotted Turtle, Albino Red Eared Slider Turtle, Asian/Chinese Leaf Turtle, and Red Bellied Short Head Turtle. In addition, Tortoises like the Greek Tortoise, Red-footed tortoise, and Asian Spurred Tortoise were found in the smuggling attempt,” officials said as quoted by ANI.The endangered wildlife were attempted to be smuggled into India in contravention of Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) at Air Cargo Mumbai by concealing under other varieties of ornamental fishes. The wildlife smugglers concealed these protected creatures under the guise of other varieties of ornamental fish, they said.(With inputs from ANI)
MENAFN26082023007365015876ID1106923041
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.