KUALA LUMPUR – A Malaysian woman was caught red-handed by India’s Tiruchirappalli (Trichy) International Airport customs officers for concealing two giant Malayan squirrels in her checked-in luggage.
In a statement by the Trichy Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate, the woman arrived from Kuala Lumpur on September 29 via a Batik Air flight.
According to the Times of India, the squirrels were confiscated under the Customs Act 1962 after she arrived in Tamil Nadu, and handed over to the Tamil Nadu Forest Department.
It is prohibited to import Malayan giant squirrels, as listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. It is an endangered species according to the Indian Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
The Forest Department will be taking action against the passenger.
Last August, customs officials at Trichy airport seized 47 pythons from an Indian national arriving from Kuala Lumpur. The pythons and two lizards were concealed in the passenger’s baggage.
The reptiles were seized under India’s customs and wildlife protection laws and sent back to Malaysia, local media reported yesterday.
The male passenger, who hails from Chennai, arrived on a Batik Air flight on July 29.
In April, Chennai airport authorities found 22 snakes in the baggage of a woman who arrived from Kuala Lumpur. – October 6, 2023