Passenger arrested with 16 exotic snakes at Mumbai airport

Mumbai: Customs arrested a 34-year-old man for smuggling 16 exotic snakes from Bangkok, linked to a wildlife trafficking syndicate.

Mumbai: A 34-year-old man was arrested by Customs officials at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport for trying to smuggle 16 exotic snakes into the country. The man was identified as Goodman Linford Leo, from Chennai.

Passenger arrested with 16 exotic snakes at Mumbai airport

Customs staff intercepted the flyer after he arrived in the city from Bangkok on Friday night, according to officials.The passenger’s baggage had cotton bags stuffed with 16 live snakes, including two Kenyan sand boas, five rhinoceros rat snakes, three albino snakes, two Honduran milk snakes, one California kingsnake, two garter snakes, and one albino rat snake, officials said.

The accused was booked under the Customs Act for smuggling exotic animals illegally. Preliminary investigations suggest he’s part of a larger wildlife trafficking syndicate, which is under investigation.

The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau and Customs are working to send back the reptiles to the source country as per the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, said an official.Experts from Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare helped in the handling and identification of the snakes, the official added.