52 Green Iguanas, 4 Saiamang Gibbon seized at Chennai airport, two held

Chennai: A bid to smuggle exotic animals into India from Malaysia was foiled at the international airport here and a woman passenger was arrested in this connection, the Customs department said on Wednesday.

The passenger hailing from Kuala Lumpur, who allegedly carried the species in her baggage, and an individual who was supposed to receive them were arrested and remanded to judicial custody, the Customs department said in a press release.

Acting on specific inputs that the exotic animals were being smuggled into India, the department sleuths intercepted the woman passenger on October 13 upon her arrival from Kuala Lumpur.

Initial examinations led to the retrieval of wildlife species -- four Saiamang Gibbon (Symphalangus syndactylus) and 52 numbers of Green Iguana (Iguana iguana).

A follow up action by the Air Customs officers apprehended an individual who was waiting to receive the smuggled species from her.

The exotic animals were deported back to the Country of origin and an investigation was on, the release added.