Bengaluru airport bust: Four caught smuggling birds, reptiles, and mammals in check-in baggage

The smuggled animals were concealed inside check-in baggage, carefully packed in cages.

In yet another crackdown on international wildlife smuggling, the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of the Customs Department at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) arrested four people on Wednesday for attempting to smuggle exotic birds, reptiles, and mammals into the country, The Hindu reported.

The accused were intercepted upon their arrival from Bangkok.

This marks the second such seizure in the past four days.

According to the publication, the accused, identified as Manoj Kumar Rengaraj, Jayaraman Ramaraj, Anandan Kumaravel, and Khamar Taj, were intercepted upon their arrival from Bangkok.

According to officials, Manoj Kumar and Jayaraman hail from Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu, while Anandan is from Bengaluru’s J. P. Nagar and Khamar Taj from Devanahalli. Investigators revealed that the four were acting as mules, paid ₹15,000 to ₹20,000 per trip, along with free food and accommodation.

The smuggled animals were concealed inside check-in baggage, carefully packed in cages. The accused were reportedly instructed to deliver the baggage to handlers waiting outside the airport, with a code word serving as confirmation for the exchange.

Among the rescued wildlife were red-whiskered bulbuls, king bird-of-paradise, Sulawesi myna, albino pygmy dormouse, black-and-red broadbill, three iguanas, and four Indochinese box turtles. Officials said the animals were likely intended for private collectors and zoo keepers.

This operation follows another wildlife smuggling case on Monday, when AIU officials apprehended a 24-year-old passenger attempting to smuggle four siamangs and two northern pig-tailed macaques from Malaysia.

Authorities have intensified their vigilance at Bengaluru airport as international wildlife smuggling networks continue to use human carriers to traffic rare and endangered species into India. Further investigations are underway.