Tortoise smuggling bid thwarted, 2 held

A fresh water tortoise that was rescued by forest officials, in the city
on Saturday | Martin Louis

Chennai: Two persons, suspected to be couriers, were caught at the International Airport here when they attempted to smuggle 27 fresh water tortoises to Bangkok on Friday night. The two couriers, who had been transporting textile clothing for more than 10 years, claimed they received the baggage with the tortoises at Central Railway Station but were not aware of what was inside it.

Forest officials said that the passengers, H Shamsudeen (67), a native of Kamuthi in Ramanathapuram district currently living in Washermenpet in Chennai, and M Mohamad Yoonus (47), of Ilayangudi in Sivagangai district and presently living in Seven Wells here, were caught before they could board a flight to Bangkok. Customs officials fell suspicious of the stroller suitcase they were carrying and intercepted them. When the officials checked their baggage, they found 27 fresh water adult tortoises neatly packaged and kept inside.

Customs officials questioned the duo and found that they did not possess any valid document to carry the species, protected under the Schedule IV of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

The passengers were detained and were later handed over to the forest department.

Forest officials said the duo was booked under Section 39 (3) (A) (B) and 48 A of the Wildlife Protection Act. “They claimed they received the baggage from an unidentified man at Central Railway Station around 5 pm on Friday before heading for the airport. The maximum punishment for such an offense is seven years imprisonment,” said S Davidraj, forest ranger, Velachery range office.

Mohamed Yoonus, one of the passengers, told Express that he had been operating as a carrier for the past 20 years transporting textile clothing from merchants in North Chennai to Malaysia and Bangkok. “I have been doing this for the past 10 years. Once we get acquainted with a person, we don’t check or inquire what they have in the baggage. We were told we would get `3,000 and were instructed to hand over the box to a man waiting at Bangkok airport wearing a black shirt,” Shamsudeen, the other passenger, told forest officials. But passengers could not give a convincing reply when asked by forest officials why they did not check the content of the baggage when they received it from a stranger.

The rescued tortoises were given carrots and cabbage and the officials said they would be sent to the Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Vandalur. Last time around a similar arrest was made at the Airport in 2010, officials said adding that smuggling of wildlife through Chennai had come down considerably due to intensive checking and strict punishments.

Source: http://newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/article1457314.ece