Customs officials seized seven exotic species of reptiles from two passengers at Chennai International Airport.
According to a press release from Ranjan Chaudhary, Commissioner of Customs, Chennai International Airport, the passengers arrived from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Thursday.
Following a tip-off, the officials of Customs Air Intelligence Unit (AIU), who were stationed at the airport, detained two people, identified as Mohammad Parvaez (36), hailing from Ramanathapuram, and Mohammad Akbar (28), from Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu.
The officials found them moving around in a suspicious manner upon their arrival from Kuala Lumpur and rushing out after collecting their luggages. The duo were intercepted at the exit and were asked to open their luggages.
The exotic reptiles were concealed in cloth bags tied with ropes. When questioned, they claimed that they were given these bags by someone outside Kuala Lumpur airport who told them to deliver these to a person who would identify them at the Chennai airport. However, nobody came to collect the bags although the officials waited for a considerable amount of time.
The reptiles were identified with the help of forest department officials of the wild life division.
These were:
1. Green tree python (Morelia viridis—a species of python native to New Guinea, islands in Indonesia, and Cape York Peninsula in Australia)
2. Scrub python (Simalia amethistina—a species of non-venomous snake found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Australia)
3. Black tree monitor lizard (Varanus beccarii—endemic to the Aru Islands off New Guinea)
4. Emerald tree monitor lizard (Varanus prasinus—known for its unusual colouration and found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, as well as several adjacent islands, and the northern Torres Strait Islands)
5. Blue-spotted tree monitor lizard (Varanus macraei— a species of monitor lizard found on the island of Batanta in Indonesia)
6. Reisinger tree Monitor (Varanus reisingeri—endemic to Indonesia)
7. Philippine sailfin lizard (Hydrosaurus pustulatus)
These snakes and lizards are covered under Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)—an international treaty to prevent species from becoming endangered or extinct because of international trade.
A team of veterinary doctors, who inspected these reptiles, found them to be in healthy condition.
The animal quarantine officials recommended to deport these reptiles back to their country of origin as the passenger did not have any NOC/DGFT licenses to import these to India.
The seized reptiles will be sent back to Kuala Lumpur, said the press release.
