CHENNAI: Customs officials monitoring the illegal exotic species trade have stumbled upon the involvement of a Chennai-based gang in three smuggling cases detected in Mumbai in the past two weeks where two men and a woman were arrested with gibbons, squirrel monkeys, raccoons, and iguanas.
Sources said the gang, based in Vadapalani, had sent kuruvis (mules) from Chennai to Bangkok to collect the animals and deliver them in Mumbai. Exotic wildlife is often trafficked from Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia to meet the growing demand in India’s pet market.
The first case, detected on September 23, led to the arrest of Arvind Arogyaraj (31) from Bengaluru by the Thane police while he was smuggling two baby gibbons. Sources said he had received the animals from a Chennai handler who had brought them from Bangkok.
Arogyaraj was hired to travel from Bengaluru to Mumbai just to facilitate the transfer of the gibbons, sources said, adding that he was a regular in this business to earn some additional income.
On September 30, Mumbai customs arrested Nivedha Anthonyraj (23), a Cuddalore native living in Chennai, for smuggling two white-cheeked baby gibbons in her checked-in luggage on a VietJet flight from Bangkok. The third case was detected by the Mumbai customs on October 4, based on intelligence shared by the Chennai unit of the DRI.
Harish Saravanan of Chennai was arrested after his luggage was found to contain 36 animals, including iguanas, bearded dragons, a raccoon, monitor lizards, squirrels, and Central American squirrel monkeys.
Official sources said Mumbai seems to be becoming a preferred destination for TN-based trafficking gangs for two reasons; firstly, there is tighter scrutiny in Chennai and Tiruchy airports due to a longer history of detecting this contraband. Secondly, they can cater to the demands of customers in the western part of India directly by sending the mules to Mumbai.
