Passenger Caught Smuggling Yellow Anacondas At Bengaluru Airport

Customs officials at Kempegowda International Airport arrested a passenger on Monday for attempting to smuggle yellow anacondas concealed in his check-in baggage. Bengaluru Customs posted on social media platform X, stating they had intercepted the smuggling attempt of 10 yellow anacondas hidden in the check-in bag of a passenger arriving from Bangkok.

The post mentioned, '#Indiancustomsatwork Bengaluru Air #Customs intercepted attempt to smuggle 10 yellow Anacondas concealed in checked-in bag of a pax arriving from Bangkok. Pax arrested and investigation is underway. Wildlife trafficking will not be tolerated. #CITES #WildlifeProtection 🐍✈️''

Trading in wildlife is illegal in India, as per Indian laws, and the Customs Act, 1962 contains several sections addressing wildlife trafficking.

Yellow anacondas are riverine species typically found near water bodies in Paraguay, Bolivia, Brazil, northeastern Argentina, and northern Uruguay.

Wildlife trade and trafficking are strictly prohibited in India. In a similar incident last year, customs officials at the Bengaluru airport rescued 234 wild animals, including a baby kangaroo, allegedly smuggled by a passenger from Bangkok. Unfortunately, the young kangaroo, which was in a plastic box, had died of suffocation.

The customs department acted on a tip-off and discovered pythons, chameleons, iguanas, turtles, and alligators concealed in the man's trolley bags. Some of the animals found in his luggage were listed in the appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).