CHENNAI: A 24-year-old Chennai native was arrested by Bengaluru Air Customs for allegedly trafficking six exotic baby monkeys from Malaysia in the early hours of Monday, sources said.
The arrested man was identified as Vinayagamoorthy Kotteswaran, a resident of MMDA Mathur in Chennai. Sources said that he was intercepted at Bengaluru airport after he returned from Kuala Lumpur on the Malaysian Airlines flight.
His check-in luggage was found to have four Siamang Gibbons and two Northern Pig-tailed Macaque, which are protected under Schedule IV of the Wildlife Protection Act and Appendix I and II of CITES. Preliminary investigations revealed that Kotteswaran was hired by two Chennai natives living in Malaysia for this exotic animal trafficking operation and was assured a payment of Rs10,000 after successful delivery.
Sources said that the gang is likely to have avoided Chennai international airport as customs authorities arrested not only a smuggler but also the receiver of the animals trafficked from Malaysia in a seizure on March 7. The animals will be examined by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB).