Exotic wildlife species smuggling: Chennai loses its ‘crown' to Bengaluru
CHENNAI: A few years after Chennai being internationally identified as the Indian hub for exotic wildlife species smuggled from south-east Asian countries, official data obtained through RTI on the number of seizures indicates that the 'crown' now belongs to Bengaluru in Karnataka.
Customs officials at Bengaluru airport in 2024-25 made 23 seizures of exotic species smuggled from Thailand and Malaysia; in comparison, their counterparts at Chennai airport made only around 10 such seizures during the same period.
In contrast, Chennai airport had witnessed 17 such seizures in 2023-24, while in Bengaluru, there were only four. Mumbai is also emerging as another destination for wildlife smugglers, as the airport recorded around 10 seizures in 2024-25, up from only one or two in the previous year.
However, investigators contend that the same international syndicates are at play and have just shifted the landing points of the contraband due to stringent vigil by enforcement agencies at Chennai.
This is evidenced by the fact that many carriers arrested at Bengaluru airport are natives of Tamil Nadu - from Chennai, Tiruchirapalli and nearby central TN districts, and Ramanathapuram and Sivagangai in southern TN. Investigators have also identified links to Tamil kingpins in Thailand and Malaysia who are already in the Customs radar.
The thumb rule in Customs is that only 10% of the smuggled contraband is intercepted, indicating the magnitude of the illegal trade. The smuggled animals fuel the thriving pet trade market across India; they are sold through social media applications and other stores.
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