Latest news with #Wagler'spitvipers
New Indian Express
22-05-2025
- New Indian Express
Two TN natives apprehended in Bengaluru for smuggling exotic turtles from Malaysia
CHENNAI: In yet another case of wildlife smuggling from southeast Asian countries involving Tamil Nadu natives, customs officials at the Bengaluru international airport apprehended two men from Thanjavur and Tiruvarur, who had brought 2,952red-eared slider turtles in their check-in luggage on an IndiGo flight from Malaysia, in the early hours of Wednesday. Sources said Bengaluru Customs apprehended Manivelan Gopinath (41) of Thanjavur and Govindasamy Sudhakar (56) of Tiruvarur, who landed in Bengaluru on the 6E-1038 flight from Kuala Lumpur late on Tuesday. Their check-in baggage contained 1,652 and 1,280 turtles respectively, for which they had no official documentation. The turtles were seized and deported back to Malaysia on the next flight, and the duo has been detained for interrogation, sources added. Though red-eared slider turtles are commonly smuggled from Malaysia to India, it is not yet protected under the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) or the Wildlife Protection Act. There are research papers indicating that it has become an invasive species in some waterbodies of India. It may be noted that the Bengaluru Customs had earlier seized nine Wagler's pit vipers, a venomous snake native to southeast Asian countries, a common cuscus and a possum from Coimbatore native Jagadeesh Raman who landed from Thailand, a week ago. Customs also arrested the alleged receiver of the wildlife, Yogesh P (36), who runs a pet shop in Bengaluru.
New Indian Express
21-05-2025
- New Indian Express
Exotic wildlife smuggling linked to pet shops again in Tamil Nadu
CHENNAI: In yet another clear indication of the involvement of pet shops in the trafficking of exotic wildlife from Thailand and Malaysia to India, the Bengaluru Airport Customs last week arrested the owner of a popular pet shop in the city who had arrived there allegedly to receive a Coimbatore-based man who had smuggled some venomous snakes, a cuscus and possum from Thailand. On May 12, Bengaluru Customs intercepted Jagadeesh Raman (43), a native of Sulur in Coimbatore, after he arrived from Bangkok on the TG-325 Thai Airways flight. His bag was found to contain nine Wagler's pit vipers, a venomous snake found in south-east Asia, a common cuscus and a possum. Customs officials also arrested Yogesh P (36) who allegedly came to collect the trafficked animals. According to official sources, Yogesh P and his brother Sunil P run Sun's Aqua pet store in JP Nagar in Bengaluru. The store's social media profiles advertise the sale of multiple exotic animals and birds, and it has also been featured on multiple YouTube vlogs as well. TNIE had earlier reported the link between S Ravikumar, a former Tamil Nadu police constable who was identified as the lynchpin of an international wildlife trafficking gang, and Syed Liyaqath Ulla, a Bengaluru-based man who also runs a pet shop, the Karnataka Aquarium. Ulla was arrested allegedly for smuggling exotic species in Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh in November and features in multiple investigations of the Chennai Customs and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) pertaining to exotic species smuggling.
