Exotic animals rescued at airport

The passenger, the man who was to collect it and the person who allegedly organised the smuggling were arrested, while the rescued animals, including primates, reptiles and rodents, will be deported to Bangkok, officials said. Of the 21 animals concealed in the checked-on baggage, three had died by the time the officials opened the bag.

According to the Customs Commissioner, the agency received a tip-off that wild animals are likely to be smuggled from Bangkok. On Tuesday morning, they spotted a passenger moving in a suspicious manner. He collected his checked-in stroller bag and began walking towards the exit in a rather hurried manner, officials said.

When they stopped the man, later identified as Suresh (35) from Chennai, and checked the bag, they found four plastic baskets and one small cardboard box concealed inside with the smuggled animals. During interrogation, Suresh claimed that he was given the stroller bag by someone outside Bangkok airport, who directed him to hand it over to an unknown person in Chennai. Following this, the Customs officials took him outside the city airport, and the man who approached him to collect the bag was nabbed.

Based on the information they got from the second man, officials arrested the man who organised the smuggling and also searched his residence.

Officials from the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) identified the animals as marmoset and red handed tamarin from South and Central America; Prevost’s squirrel from Thai Malay peninsula; black and red eastern grey squirrel from eastern North America; iguanas from South and Central America.

Of these, one Prevost’s squirrel and both eastern grey squirrels were dead. A team of veterinary doctors from Arignar Anna Zoological Park said the rest of the animals are healthy. Animal Quarantine officials said the animals would be deported back to the country of origin as they were brought here without NoC or DGFT import licence.

It may be recalled that the Air Intelligence Unit of the Customs Department had caught a smuggler with exotic animals at the airport on December 22, 2019. The rescued animals included 12 banner tailed kangaroo rats, three prairie dogs, one red squirrel and five blue iguana lizards.