Poisonous snake found only in Africa seized at Chennai airport along with other reptiles
TNN | Mar 26, 2019, 04.27 AM IST
Chennai: For probably the first time in the country, Customs officials at Chennai international airport on Monday morning seized a horn pit viper, a poisonous African snake, besides several other endangered reptiles from the bag of a passenger who had arrived from Bangkok.
Apart from the viper, two rhinoceros iguana (cyclura cornuta), three rock iguana (cyclura genus), 22 Egyptian tortoise (testudo kleinmani ), four blue-tongued skink, three green tree frogs (genus hyla), an amphibian species, were found inside plastic containers in the passenger’s bags.
The passenger, a 22-year-old Chennai student, Mohammad Abdul Majeed, had arrived from from Bangkok by Thai Airways flight TG337.
Incidentally, on February 2, a leopard cub was seized by customs officials at the airport from a passenger who had arrived on the same flight.
The Viper is an African venomous snake and there is no anti venom available in India for it. Egyptian tortoise is a critically endangered species and is endemic to Egypt and Libya.
The wild life species were seized under the provisions of Customs Act 1962. The passenger was detained. The seized wild life species will be sent back to Bangkok.
Customs officials received a specific intelligence that wild animals were likely to be smuggled from Thailand.
When the flight arrived in the wee hours of Monday morning, the customs officials zeroed in on Majeed who was behaving in a suspicious manner.
He was questioned and his purple stroller bag was examined. It was found to contain nine plastic containers along with some chocolates, gift items and personal clothing. When the containers were opened, some reptiles were present inside. When he was questioned, he said that he was supposed to hand over the bag to someone outside the airport. He was taken outside but no one turned up to receive the bag even after waiting for a considerable time.
To identify the reptile species, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) officials were called. A team of Veterinary doctors were called from Arignar Anna Zoological Park who inspected and found the animals in healthy condition.
Rajan Chaudhary, commissioner of airport customs, told TOI Bangkok has become a hub from where wild animals were being smuggled to India. Recently, two seizures of 2300 and 4800 red-eared slider turtles were also seized from passengers coming from Bangkok, he said.
TNN | Mar 26, 2019, 04.27 AM IST
Chennai: For probably the first time in the country, Customs officials at Chennai international airport on Monday morning seized a horn pit viper, a poisonous African snake, besides several other endangered reptiles from the bag of a passenger who had arrived from Bangkok.
Apart from the viper, two rhinoceros iguana (cyclura cornuta), three rock iguana (cyclura genus), 22 Egyptian tortoise (testudo kleinmani ), four blue-tongued skink, three green tree frogs (genus hyla), an amphibian species, were found inside plastic containers in the passenger’s bags.
The passenger, a 22-year-old Chennai student, Mohammad Abdul Majeed, had arrived from from Bangkok by Thai Airways flight TG337.
Incidentally, on February 2, a leopard cub was seized by customs officials at the airport from a passenger who had arrived on the same flight.
The Viper is an African venomous snake and there is no anti venom available in India for it. Egyptian tortoise is a critically endangered species and is endemic to Egypt and Libya.
The wild life species were seized under the provisions of Customs Act 1962. The passenger was detained. The seized wild life species will be sent back to Bangkok.
Customs officials received a specific intelligence that wild animals were likely to be smuggled from Thailand.
When the flight arrived in the wee hours of Monday morning, the customs officials zeroed in on Majeed who was behaving in a suspicious manner.
He was questioned and his purple stroller bag was examined. It was found to contain nine plastic containers along with some chocolates, gift items and personal clothing. When the containers were opened, some reptiles were present inside. When he was questioned, he said that he was supposed to hand over the bag to someone outside the airport. He was taken outside but no one turned up to receive the bag even after waiting for a considerable time.
To identify the reptile species, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) officials were called. A team of Veterinary doctors were called from Arignar Anna Zoological Park who inspected and found the animals in healthy condition.
Rajan Chaudhary, commissioner of airport customs, told TOI Bangkok has become a hub from where wild animals were being smuggled to India. Recently, two seizures of 2300 and 4800 red-eared slider turtles were also seized from passengers coming from Bangkok, he said.
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