COIMBATORE: Officials of the customs department in Coimbatore International Airport on Friday seized several exotic species that were allegedly trafficked from Singapore. According to sources, passengers arrived at the Coimbatore International Airport from Singapore by Scoot Airlines on November 7 and three luggage remained unclaimed. The luggage was found at the conveyor belts at the airport and the airline staff had taken the luggage into their custody.
They also informed the customs officials who scanned the luggage and found out that there were exotic animals inside. They opened the three luggage and found exotic species of Tarantulas, Albino red-eared slider, Red-eared slider, African spurred tortoise, and Royal pythons.
The airline staff contacted three passengers over the phone and asked them to claim their luggage. Two passengers - Dominic and Ramasamy from Chennai- visited the airport to receive the luggage. They were secured by the customs officials for questioning. Preliminary inquiry revealed that three passengers smuggled the exotic species from Singapore to Tamil Nadu for illegal pet trade.
The customs officials informed the Coimbatore forest department officials who also visited the airport and checked the animals. Officials said they were planning to send back the exotic species to Singapore on a flight after completing the investigation.