Mumbai: DRI seizes 306 exotic animals being smuggled into India from Thailand

The Mumbai zonal unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence DRI seized 306 live exotic animals that were being smuggled into India from Thailand an official said on SaturdayThe seizure which was done in accordance with Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CITES was made in the early hours of Friday at the Air Cargo complex in Sahar in Andheri he saidA consignment declared as having live ornamental fish was intercepted We found 100 turtles 62 tortoises 110 snails 30 juvenile crabs and four sting rays all of which were concealed with the declared ornamental fish the official saidThe consignment contained Greek tortoise red footed tortoise Asian spurred tortoise yellow spotted turtle Albino redeared slider turtle AsianChinese leaf turtle and red bellied short head turtle he addedFurther action including rehabilitation of the exotic animals is being taken in consultation with Wildlife Crime Control Bureau WCCB officials and the Chief Wildlife Warden of Maharashtra he saidAlso readIn Photos Muharram procession on Ashura in Mumbais DharaviThe seized animals were handed over to Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare for stabilization and are being treated by Dr Rina Dev RAWW founder president Pawan Sharma saidThe animals are under severe stress due to the journey and have suffered from primary and secondary infections said Dr DevThese do not belong to India and have been bred in captivity so they cannot be released into the wild here They may require repatriation to the country of origin or lifetime captivity care Sharma addedMeanwhile D N Nagar police apprehended a trio while attempting to sell a dead sambarrsquos skull on Tuesday The police received a tipoff on July 25 indicating that the accused would be present near Vajeda House Samata Nagar Andheri West Upon reaching the spot the police found three alleged culprits in possession of the dead Sambarrsquos skull which had thorns attached to it Swiftly the police apprehended the suspectsAccording to API Rakesh Pawar of DN Nagar police station ldquoThe accused have confessed that they found the animal in Sanjay Gandhi National Park and approximately two months ago it had consumed plastic leading to its imminent death They claim they did not kill the animal rather they removed the skull after its skin decomposed and attempted to sell it in posh areas of Mumbairdquo The skullrsquos estimated worth in the international market is Rs 20 lakhAs part of the investigation the police are examining the phone records of the alleged culprits to identify the intended buyer of the skull Although this was their first attempt at such a crime their plans were foiled due to an alert tipoff received by the policeThe accused individuals Harsh Dube 22 Ashutosh Suryavanshi 22 and Manoj Barap 24 were presented before the Andheri metropolitan magistrate court and were remanded in police custody until July 26The trio has been booked under section 34 Common Intention and the relevant sections of the Wild Life Protection Act 1976 as per the policersquos official statement Agencies