The officers found three Spider-Tailed Horned Vipers (Pseudocerastes urarachnoides), five Asian Leaf Turtles (Cyclemys dentata), and as many as 44 Indonesian Pit Vipers (Trimeresurus insularis) with the passenger
One of the vipers was found dead.
The customs officers at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai have filed a case against a passenger travelling from Bangkok on Thai Airways flight TD317 on Saturday for smuggling 52 reptiles into the country.
The reptiles were discovered upon inspecting the passenger – who according to customs officials, was showing nervousness.
The officers found three Spider-Tailed Horned Vipers (Pseudocerastes urarachnoides), five Asian Leaf Turtles (Cyclemys dentata), and as many as 44 Indonesian Pit Vipers (Trimeresurus insularis) with the passenger.
The Spider-Tailed Horned Viper and Asian Leaf Turtle are listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and Schedule IV of the newly amended Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Of the 44 Indonesian Pit Vipers, one was found dead, the authorities stated.
The officers intercepted the passenger and arrested him under the Customs Act, 1962. The listed animals have been recovered following a panchnama.
All three species of the reptiles are known to be highly sought after in the global exotic pet trade.
What do experts have to say?
Honorary Wildlife Warden of Thane and President of the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW), Pawan Sharma, said, "This pattern and nature of illegal wildlife trafficking in exotic species is unusual and quite alarming because of the kind of species involved. Usually, non-venomous species of snakes are commonly used in illegal trade but the involvement of highly venomous species of vipers is quite shocking. This is also a matter of public safety at large as snakebite cases involving such non-native venomous species raise concerns about the effectiveness of anti-snake venom as we have polyvalent serums available primarily made from the ‘big four’ species – Cobra, Krait, Russell's Viper and Saw-Scaled Viper. We ensured that all the snakes were carefully handled while removing them from individual bags to identify and stabilise them before preparing them for the deportation exercise."
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