Customs nab two people at Bengaluru airport, seize exotic wildlife species and Rs 1 crore ganja

Bengaluru: Customs officials at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) arrested two persons for smuggling multiple exotic wildlife species from Bangkok on
November 9.

A husband-wife duo — Mansoor, 42, and Khairunnisa, 35, from Kerala — were caught smuggling a northern white-cheeked gibbon, a capuchin monkey, four Visayan hornbills, and two Javan mynas. They arrived in Bengaluru on Thai Airways flight TG 325, which landed at 11.42 pm. They have been booked under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Customs officials said the seized animals will be repatriated to Bangkok authorities.

In a separate incident the same day, officials arrested another passenger arriving from Bangkok for carrying 2.99 kg of hydroponic ganja valued at Rs 1.04 crore.

The passenger was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, Bengaluru Customs said in a social media post.