CHENNAI: A 37-year-old Bengaluru woman arrested by Bengaluru Customs last week for trying to traffic three exotic monkeys from Bangkok was also arrested 18 months ago in a similar case at Chennai international airport, investigators have found, indicating the operation was carried out by the same international gang.
On August 1, the Bengaluru customs arrested Najama Syed Roshan, a resident of Bagalur in Bengaluru for carrying a silvery gibbon and two Bornean white-bearded gibbons in her checked-in luggage on the TG-325 flight from Bangkok. While the three exotic baby monkeys, which are protected under Schedule-IV of the Wildlife Protection Act, died in transit, Najama was arrested by the air intelligence unit (AIU) of Bengaluru customs.
Sources said that this is not the first time Najama is involved in trafficking of exotic species – on February 13, 2024, she was arrested by Chennai customs for bringing in two red-tailed Guenon, a rare monkey native to African jungles, from Bangkok to Chennai. What has piqued officials is that Najama had a different passport when she was arrested from Chennai last year, indicating a loophole to be probed.
Incidentally, customs investigations had found that she was supposed to deliver the monkeys to S Ravikumar, the dismissed Tamil Nadu police constable, who was identified as the lynchpin of an international wildlife trafficking gang.Sources said that Najama was allegedly employed as a mule by the alleged mastermind, a Tamilian living in Bangkok, to deliver the monkeys to Ravikumar for Rs 30,000-Rs 50,000. As reported by TNIE earlier, Ravikumar allegedly used to coordinate with mules, take delivery of animals and sell them in the lucrative pet market through social media or transport them to dealers like Syed Liyaqath Ulla in Bengaluru.
Investigators tailing this case are piqued as Ravikumar, detained under Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA), was recently released on bail. Officials say that exotic wildlife smugglers from Malaysia and Thailand have shifted to Bengaluru and other airports due to greater vigil in Chennai.