<p>Bengaluru: Thirty Indian star tortoises, a threatened species, were rescued from a smuggling attempt at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru on Sunday.</p>.<p>The tortoises were found stuffed in check-in baggage bound for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.</p>.<p>Ashik Ali Shahul Hameed, 29, from Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu, was intercepted by the Air Intelligence Unit of Customs before boarding Batik Air flight OD-242. He had used adhesive to restrict the tortoises’ movement and concealed them in socks and tobacco pouches.</p>.<p>As the tortoises were alive, he was booked under the Wildlife Protection Act and the Customs Act.</p>.<p>“This person is just the carrier. We are looking for those behind the operation,” said a source in the Forest Department told DH. All 30 tortoises were released into the wild after examination.</p>.<p>While KIA has seen a rise in exotic wildlife smuggling cases in recent years, export of native species is less common.</p>.Three Africans arrested by NCB for smuggling drugs in Bengaluru via bus & flight.<p><strong>Past incidents </strong></p>.<p>A similar attempt to smuggle 60 Indian star tortoises to Bangkok was foiled in 2022.</p>.<p>Last week, three gibbons smuggled in from Thailand died of asphyxiation at KIA.</p>.<p>Forest officials will meet customs officers this week to establish stronger anti-smuggling protocols.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: Thirty Indian star tortoises, a threatened species, were rescued from a smuggling attempt at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru on Sunday.</p>.<p>The tortoises were found stuffed in check-in baggage bound for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.</p>.<p>Ashik Ali Shahul Hameed, 29, from Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu, was intercepted by the Air Intelligence Unit of Customs before boarding Batik Air flight OD-242. He had used adhesive to restrict the tortoises’ movement and concealed them in socks and tobacco pouches.</p>.<p>As the tortoises were alive, he was booked under the Wildlife Protection Act and the Customs Act.</p>.<p>“This person is just the carrier. We are looking for those behind the operation,” said a source in the Forest Department told DH. All 30 tortoises were released into the wild after examination.</p>.<p>While KIA has seen a rise in exotic wildlife smuggling cases in recent years, export of native species is less common.</p>.Three Africans arrested by NCB for smuggling drugs in Bengaluru via bus & flight.<p><strong>Past incidents </strong></p>.<p>A similar attempt to smuggle 60 Indian star tortoises to Bangkok was foiled in 2022.</p>.<p>Last week, three gibbons smuggled in from Thailand died of asphyxiation at KIA.</p>.<p>Forest officials will meet customs officers this week to establish stronger anti-smuggling protocols.</p>