Smugglers traveling from Thailand with lizards, tarantulas, possums, Indian authorities stopped to say

Indian customs officials’ latest “major” seizure of endangered wildlife from passengers arriving from Thailand, including nearly 100 species of creatures including lizards, sunshine and tree-climbing possums, the government statement said.

Customs officials said the passenger also carried two spiders and turtles, who “showed signs of tension” when he arrived in India’s financial capital Mumbai.

Epilepsy is stopped when the passengers stop Smuggling dozens of venomous snakesalso arrived from Thailand earlier in June. Mumbai Customs said in a statement that it included 44 Indonesian venomous snakes and was “hidden in the check-in luggage”.

Wildlife in the latest seizures include iguanas, as well as the tiny raccoon-like animals of the Mexican rainforest of the golden caju or honey bear, and six “sugar gliders”, paragliders found in Australia.

Photos released by the customs department show six sugar gliders huddled together in the basket, and a box stuffed with lizards.

“In a major operation, customs officials … intercepted an Indian national … resulted in the capture of multiple biological and deceased wildlife species, some of which were protected by the Wildlife Conservation Act,” the Ministry of Finance said in a statement late Monday.

Disturbing smuggling trends

Traffic monitored by wildlife trade fights wildlife and plant smuggling, warned Tuesday that trafficking trends driven by exotic pet trade are “very disturbing.”

It said that over the past three and a half years, more than 7,000 dead and alive animals have been occupied along the Thai-Indian air route.

Customs officials at Mumbai Airports are more accustomed to seizing smuggled gold, cash or marijuana – but instances of wildlife and plant epilepsy have risen lately.

In early June, Indian nationals flying from Thailand caught dozens of snakes and several turtles.

These include several venomous species with spider-tailed horns, a venomous species that scientists described in 2006 and classified as “nearly threatening” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Traffic said its analysis showed that while most cases involved animals smuggled from Thailand, more than 80% of interceptions occurred in India.

“The almost weekly discovery and diversity of wildlife traveling to India is very disturbing,” said Kanitha Krishnasamy, Southeast Asia director of transportation.

She added that many captured people were alive, which “showed that the hustle and bustle of exotic pets was driving the deal.”

In February, customs officials at Mumbai Airport also stopped the smugglers with five Siamang Gibbons (Miniac Man from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand Forests).

Customs officers said the small creatures that were harmed by IUCN were “skillfully hidden” in plastic boxes in passenger cart bags.

In November, authorities found a passenger carrying 12 sea turtles.