Mumbai: Based on the intelligence received, the officers of DRI, Mumbai Zonal Unit, intercepted a person who arrived at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai from Bangkok on 20 December. Upon examination of the check-in luggage of the said passenger, 09 ball pythons (python regius) and 02 corn snakes (pantherophis guttatus) were found concealed inside biscuits/cake packets.
The snakes were seized under Customs Act 1962. The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), Western Region (WR), Navi Mumbai officials after inspection confirmed the identification of the seized animals.
As these species are not indigenous and were imported in violation of CITES and import policy, Regional Deputy Director, WCCB, WR issued a detention cum deportation order to send back these reptiles to Bangkok for better survival . The reptiles were handed over to Spice jet Airlines. The carrier of these exotic species has been arrested. Further investigation and searches are under progress.
The operation is a manifestation of DRI’s ability to develop intelligence and dismantle the burgeoning syndicates involved in the smuggling of exotic flora and fauna in violation of the law of the land.
