Mumbai Customs on Saturday said that it has seized drugs and rescued several wild animals at city airport.

It said that several passengers were held for smuggling them into the country from abroad.

An official statement said the Mumbai Customs officials at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), under Mumbai Customs Zone III, intercepted multiple passengers attempting to smuggle narcotics and exotic wildlife into India between October 8 and 11.

A total of seven narcotics cases and one wildlife smuggling case were detected, leading to the arrest of several individuals under the NDPS Act, 1985 and the Customs Act, 1962, read with the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, its said.

The statement further stated that the customs officials recovered a total of approximately 50 kg of suspected Hydroponic Weed (Marijuana), with an estimated illicit market value of over Rs 44 crores, from various international passengers arriving from Phuket, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur.

In the first case 11.519 kg was seized from a passenger arriving from Phuket the seizure amounts to Rs 11.519 crore. In an another case, 9.842 kg of drugs smuggled from Bangkok were seized, it values Rs 9.842 crore.

In other cases, the officials seized 2.017 kg from 2 passengers arriving in city from Phuket, the drugs amounted to Rs 2.017 crore, 2.003 kg drugs worth Rs 2.003 crore were seized from passenger arrived from Bangkok, a passenger who arrived from Kuala Lumpur was found in possession of drugs worth Rs 8.87 crore.

In two other cases passengers were found with drugs worth Rs 8 crore and Rs 1.761 crore, three passengers were held in the matter, they had arrived from Bangkok and Phuket respectively, officials said.

“In all these cases, the drugs were carefully concealed in checked-in trolley bags, and arrests were made as per the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985,” said an official.

Meanwhile, in a separate case, Customs officials intercepted a passenger arriving from Bangkok and recovered a shocking haul of live exotic wildlife concealed inside luggage.

The seizure included, 17 Green iguanas, 11 bearded dragons, 7 honduran milk snakes, 3 rainbow boas, 2 aldabra giant tortoises (juveniles), 3 blue-tongued skinks, and more, the officials said, adding that 5 pacman frogs, 2 tarantulas, and a common cuscus were also seized.

The species rescued are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and the passenger was arrested accordingly, the officials said.

Source