Endangered pythons, rabbits, parrots seized from passengers at Pune airport, animals to be sent back to Bangkok

Indian Express

17-07-2025

Officials with the Customs Department on Tuesday arrested two passengers who arrived from Bangkok at Pune airport and seized smuggled exotic wild animals, including green tree pythons, double-eyed fig parrots, and Sumatran striped rabbits, from them. The endangered animals are set to be sent back to Thailand under the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Pune Customs said.
'On specific intelligence, Pune Customs officers intercepted two passengers, namely Zaheerabbas Aynal Mandal and Bhavesh Rameshbhai Solanki, both landed at Pune from Bangkok on Air India Express Flight IX-241,' the Customs Department said in a statement.
The accused possessed 14 green tree pythons (Morelia viridis), of which 13 were alive and one dead, four double-eyed fig parrots (Cyclopsitta diophthalma), and two Sumatran striped rabbits (Nesolagus netscheri) from their possession. The animals were hidden in the baggage of the passengers, said an officer.
'A case under The Customs Act, 1962, read with the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972, has been booked against them, and both the passengers are arrested. Further investigation is in progress,' the press statement said.
Officials said that a probe has been launched to verify whether the passengers have any accomplices.
Following the seizure, Mahadev Mohite, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Pune, has sought the assistance of Pune-based RESQ Charitable Trust for species verification, veterinary examination, and immediate triage of animals. RESQ team comprising veterinarians Dr Satvik Pathak and Dr Sushrut Shirbhate, along with Director Nachiket Utpat, wildlife technician Harshad Nagrare, and founder Neha Panchamiya, assisted the forest department. RESQ veterinarians are scheduled to revisit the animals for follow-up care and ensure stabilisation until deportation, officials said.
Customs officials said that as the species were identified, the actions of the two arrested passengers were found to violate the CITES and Import rules, as import of live animals requires a Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Licence.
Provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act say that when living specimens of a species listed are seized under the Customs Act as a result of illegal import into India, the specimens are returned to the country of origin. Therefore, on completion of the Customs procedures and formalities, all the live animals will be returned to the origin country for better survival of the animals. If it is not feasible, these animals may also be temporarily rehabilitated to any of the recognised zoos by the Central Zoo Authority, officials said.