Snakes on a plane: Border staff seize dozens of hidden venomous serpents
Customs officials in India stopped and arrested an airline passenger travelling from Thailand after they say he was caught smuggling dozens of venomous snakes and other small reptiles into the busy city of Mumbai.
The poisonous serpents, which included 44 Indonesian pit vipers, were 'concealed in checked-in baggage,' Mumbai customs agents said in a post on Sunday.
'An Indian national arriving from Thailand was arrested,' the statement added.
Officials said the passenger also stashed three spider-tailed horned vipers — venomous snakes that primarily target small prey such as birds — and five Asian leaf turtles.
Mumbai customs shared images of the brightly coloured reptiles on X.
On 01.06.2025, officers at CSMIA seized 3 Spider-Tailed Horned Vipers & 5 Asian Leaf Turtles (CITES Appendix-II), along with 44 Indonesian Pit Vipers, concealed in checked-in baggage. An Indian national arriving from Thailand was arrested. pic.twitter.com/C07R2Y58ZX
— Mumbai Customs-III (@mumbaicus3) June 1, 2025
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Mumbai customs shares photographs of its seizures regularly. Most appear to be drugs, gold or cash-related interceptions, with some travellers attempting to conceal illegal substances 'inside the body cavities,' according to the border agency, but the illegal smuggling of exotic wildlife is relatively common.
In February, agents stopped a smuggler carrying five siamang gibbons, a species of small, endangered apes native to Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
According to the post, the animals were 'ingeniously concealed' in plastic boxes and cages, which were placed inside the passenger's trolley bag.
On the night of 04-05 Feb'25, customs officers at CSMIA, Mumbai, booked a case of smuggling 5 Siamang Gibbons (Symphalangus syndactylus) under Appendix I of CITES & Schedule IV of the amended Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Action under the Act is being initiated @cbic_india pic.twitter.com/dz1JylHujd
— Mumbai Customs-III (@mumbaicus3) February 5, 2025
In November 2024, agents discovered a package of 12 exotic turtles, which the Wildlife Bureau identified as Japanese pond turtles and scorpion mud turtles, being smuggled by a passenger coming from Bangkok, Thailand. A month before, staff intercepted two passengers coming from Bangkok with two Visayan hornbills, birds typically found in Filipino wetlands, on their person.
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In September 2024, authorities halted a 'significant case of smuggling of wildlife' when staff recovered five baby caiman crocodiles.
On 04.11.2024, the officers at CSMI Airport, Mumbai, intercepted 02 pax coming from Bangkok and seized 12 exotic Turtle species. The Wildlife Bureau identified them as Japanese Pond Turtles (08) & Scorpion Mud Turtles (04), (all Listed in Appendix-II of CITES). 02 pax arrested. pic.twitter.com/rG5dePHaPi
— Mumbai Customs-III (@mumbaicus3) November 5, 2024
A 2024 report on wildlife trafficking by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime found that the 'global scope and scale of wildlife crime remain substantial.' Seizures from 2015 to 2021 indicate 'an illegal trade in 162 countries and territories affecting around 4,000 plant and animal species,' of which 3,250 are listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
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The most commonly affected species of both plants and animals are rare orchids, succulents, reptiles, fish, birds and mammals, and their trafficking has played a major role in their 'local' or 'global' extinctions, the report says.
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Meanwhile, in Canada, species at risk of being targeted include cougars, geese, lynx, moose, crabs, eels, lobsters, narwhals, turtles and wolves, according to Canada's financial intelligence agency.
Trafficking also has negative knock-on effects on the environment as well as human longevity, as it can disrupt the balance of ecosystems and impact their ability to help regulate and mitigate climate change, which in turn damages the natural benefits humans derive from their environment.
'Wildlife crime also threatens the socioeconomic benefits people derive from nature, including as a source of income, employment, food, medicine, culture, and more. It further corrodes good governance and the rule of law through corruption, money laundering and illicit financial flows,' the report says.
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Wildlife crimes are often orchestrated by far-reaching criminal enterprises that are embedded in roles across the global trade chain, including in breeding and storage methods, and are adept at manipulating and exploiting weaknesses and inconsistencies in regulations.
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