Bangalore Customs found another international wildlife racket; rescue nine venomous snakes

Customs officials rescued a smuggled snake in Kia on Monday. |Picture source: Special arrangement

Customs officials at Bengaluru Kempegowda International Airport rescued nine venomous snakes smuggled from Bangkok, Thailand on Monday.

Based on the tip, officials arrested Jagadisha Raman, 35, a man who picked up a duffel bag after Thai Airlines arrived at the airport and handed over the cargo to the recipient. After the trial, officials tied Jagadisha and his receiver to the exit point and retracted the bag. The bag contains nine live vagra vipers, a common spotted cus, and a living oppossum hidden in the bag with tiny holes breathing.

“Of course, Waglers’ Pit Vipers are toxic and deadly, and there are no antidotes in India,” said an official.

Jagadisha and his receivers (local merchants) were booked for endangering the safety of passengers and crew. They were later taken to judicial custody.

“In a national emergency, the incident also revealed a lack of safety measures at the airport. We want to know how the defendants managed to blind security checks in Thailand and Malaysia and bring wildlife to Bangalore,” an official said.

The incident also highlighted the lack of coordination among different agencies, and despite the increasing number of such smuggling cases reported at airports, no strict precautions were taken.

In January, senior BIAL officials wrote to a growing record of wildlife smuggling incidents, a MD and CEO at Bangkok Airport in Thailand. Officials have contacted their Thai counterparts with court permission to return to rescued wildlife.