Indian plane passengers were caught in 16 live snakes, including rhino snakes
Indian customs officials in Mumbai said they stopped a passenger on a plane arriving from Thailand and had a wriggling live snake cargo – the third such seizure this month.
Customs officers said: “Customs officers… foiled another attempt to smuggle wildlife, 16 live snakes… caught among passengers returning from Thailand.” They said it was held at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in India.
The passenger arrived on Sunday and had been arrested, the customs agency said in a statement.
Live snakes include reptiles that are often sold in the pet trade, are largely non-venom, or the venom is too weak to affect people. The agency posted images of the snake found on social media.
These include hanging snakes, California King snakes along the coast, rhino rat snakes and Kenyan beach paper, and more.
Customs officials at Mumbai Airports are more accustomed to seizing smuggled gold, cash or marijuana – but instances of wildlife and plant epilepsy have gradually increased recently.
In early June, customs personnel stopped smuggling by a passenger Dozens of poisonous snakesalso from Thailand. A few days later, the officer stopped another traveler Carrying 100 creatures Including lizards, sunshine and opossums climbing trees.
In February, customs officials at Mumbai Airport also stopped smugglers along with five Siamang Gibbons, little apes native to the forests of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Customs officers said the small animals that were harmed by the IUCN were “skillfully hidden in the plastic boxes in the passenger’s trolley bags.”
In November, authorities found a passenger carrying 12 sea turtles.
“Very disturbing” trend
Wildlife trade monitors’ traffic battles with wildlife and plant smuggling, warning that the trafficking trend driven by the exotic pet trade is “very disturbing.”
It said that over the past 3.5 years, more than 7,000 dead and alive animals have been caught along the Thai-Indian air route.
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.”
