Chennai man from Bangkok brings animals in check-in baggage, held

CHENNAI: Custom officers seized 5 commonly spotted cuscus, (a monkey like animal), from a passenger who arrived from Bangkok on Tuesday. The animals were sent back to Bangkok.

The officials were checking the passengers who arrived from Bangkok on Tuesday. On suspicion, they intercepted a male passenger from Chennai. They noticed that there was a movement on the baggage he was carrying.

Soon they opened the baggage and found 5 spotted cuscuses inside the bags. During inquiry, the passenger said that he brought the animals to have them as pets in his house.

However, as there was no quarantine, and the passenger didn’t have any valid certificates to bring them to India, the officials seized them.

Later, the Wild Life Control Bureau was informed and officials decided to send the animals back to Bangkok since there was a risk of the virus spreading from those animals. Later, the 5 animals were sent back on a Thai Airlines flight.

The passenger was arrested and further inquiry is on.