Mumbai: The Mumbai Airport Customs officials in two cases have recovered two Silvery Gibbons and seized drugs worth Rs 8 crore from a passenger.
On the basis of specific intelligence, the Customs officers at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), intercepted one passenger arriving from Bangkok to Mumbai. During the examination of the baggage, the Customs officers recovered two Silvery Gibbon, one live and one found dead which were concealed in a basket kept in the trolley bag of the passenger. The passenger was arrested under the provisions of Customs Act and Wildlife Protection Act.
"The Silvery Gibbon is a small ape, known for its striking bluish-grey fur, endemic to the Indonesian island of Java. The silvery gibbon is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and is at high risk of extinction due to the illegal pet trade, hunting, habitat loss and forest fragmentation. It is estimated that less than 2,500 Silvery Gibbons remain in the wild. Gibbons are famously known as the "singing apes," and their loud, complex territorial calls often take the form of synchronized duets between the mated pair. Silvery gibbons are generally monogamous, forming stable, long-term pair bonds and living in small family groups consisting of the mated pair and up to four immature offspring. This social structure is why the illegal pet trade is so devastating. To capture a young gibbon (the preferred target for smuggling), poachers often have to kill the protective mother and sometimes the father, destroying the entire family unit and removing multiple individuals from the already small breeding population," said a Customs official.
"Being a beautiful creature, the Silvery Gibbon is desirable as an exotic pet. However, the illegal smuggling of such exotic species is often executed by the organised crime syndicate in a very inhumane manner by keeping the animals in a tightly confined space. For most of the mammals these conditions are traumatic and may become fatal. In this case 2 baby Gibbons, a 2-month-old and a 4-month-old were smuggled in a tightly packed basket. The younger Gibbon could not survive the hardship of air travel, an unfortunate situation where hardly around 2500 species are surviving in the wild. Fatality rate during air travel is higher for mammals. Even if somehow, they endure this travel and although the end customer of the syndicate may provide best of the facilities for these exotic pets, the survival rate of such species outside their indigenous habitat is very less. There is a need for larger awareness amongst public that such exquisite species belongs to their natural habitat and not as an ornamental/decorative tool," the official added.
In another case, a passenger who had arrived from Bangkok was intercepted and during the examination of the baggage, the Customs officers recovered 7.97 kg of suspected hydroponic weed (marijuana), with an illicit market value of approximately Rs 8 crores. The narcotic substances were concealed inside the checked-in trolley bag carried by the passenger, who was arrested under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
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