Bengaluru Customs uncover another international wildlife racket; rescue nine venomous snakes

One of the smuggled snakes rescued by the Customs officials astatine KIA successful Bengaluru connected Monday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The Customs officials astatine Kempegowda International Airport successful Bengaluru rescued 9 venomous snakes being smuggled from Bangkok successful Thailand connected Monday.

Based connected a tip-off, the officials arrested Jagadisha Raman, 35, a mule, who picked up the luggage container aft arriving astatine the airdrome by Thai Airways and handed implicit the consignment to the receiver. The officials, by pursuing the trial, nabbed some Jagadisha and his receiver red-handed astatine the exit constituent and recovered the bag. The container contained 9 unrecorded Wagler’s pit vipers, 1 communal spotted cuscus, and 1 unrecorded oppossum concealed wrong the cloth bags with tiny holes for breathing.

“Among them, Waglers’s pit vipers are venomous and deadly and bash not person antidotes successful India,” an authoritative said.

Both Jagadisha and his receiver, a section businessman, were booked for endangering the information of the passengers and crew. They were aboriginal remanded successful judicial custody.

“The incidental besides brought to airy the deficiency of information measures astatine the airdrome during a concern of nationalist emergency. We are wondering however the accused managed to hoodwink the information checks successful Thailand and Malaysia and brought the wildlife to Bengaluru,” an authoritative said.

The incidental besides highlights the deficiency of coordination betwixt antithetic agencies, arsenic contempt the expanding fig of specified smuggling cases reported astatine the airport, nary strict preventive measures person been taken, the authoritative added.

In January this year, taking a superior enactment connected the expanding incidents of wildlife smuggling, elder officials of the BIAL had written to the MD and CEO of Bangkok Airport, Thailand. Officials person contacted their counterparts successful Thailand to instrumentality the rescued wildlife with the tribunal permission.

Published - May 13, 2025 11:35 p.m. IST