CHENNAI: In a unique case booked by Chennai Airport Customs, officials on Monday morning seized around 18 kg of Sri Lankan agarwood chips and three litres of agar oil, together worth Rs 50 lakh. They also arrested two passengers—Mohammed Talha, a Sri Lankan native, and Shabaz Ahmed, an Assam native—who allegedly tried to smuggle it in their baggage on a flight from Colombo. The consignment was seized after confirmation with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB).
According to a 2023 report by global NGO Trade Record Analysis of Flora and Fauna in Commerce (TRAFFIC), agarwood is one of the most expensive woods in the world and is used extensively for its medicinal and aromatic qualities in the perfume and incense stick industries. Agarwood is native to Sri Lanka as well as north-eastern states of India like Assam and Meghalaya and is a protected species listed under Schedule IV of India’s Wildlife Protection Act and Appendix II of CITES, ensuring prohibition of its trade.
Usually, Indian agarwood consignments are seized at Delhi, Mumbai or Hyderabad airports while it is being smuggled out to Gulf countries, say sources. However, this case is unique as Sri Lankan agar was being smuggled into India. Initial probes revealed that Talha and Ahmed are involved in the agarwood trade by illegally procuring it from different parts of Sri Lanka and making significant profits by selling it in India and other countries, said sources adding that it would be investigated if the wood was meant for consumption in India or was transiting to some other country.
The TRAFFIC report states that between 2017 and 2021, more than 1.25 tonnes of agarwood and six litres of its oil/derivatives were reportedly seized from Assam, Delhi, Kerala, Maharashtra and Telangana meant for Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Thailand and UAE.
Agarwood
Scientific name
Gyrinops or Aquilaria
Used for
Perfumes, incense sticks, medical treatment
Found in
Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura in India; different parts of Sri Lanka
Status
Critically endangered, over exploited
Protected under
Schedule IV of Wildlife Protection Act, Appendix II of CITES