Smuggler stopped with spiders, birds and possums

Customs officers here made the latest 'significant' seizure of endangered wildlife from a passenger arriving from Thailand, a government statement said, carrying nearly 100 creatures including lizards, sunbirds and tree-climbing possums.
Customs officers said the passenger, who was also carrying two tarantula spiders and tortoi­ses, had 'exhibited signs of ner­vousness' on arrival at India's financial capital Mumbai.
The seizure comes after a ­passenger was stopped smuggling dozens of venomous vipers, also arriving from Thailand, earlier in June.
Wildlife seized included iguanas, as well as a kinkajou or honey bear – a small raccoon-like animal from Mexico's rainforests – as well as six 'sugar gliders', a gliding possum found in Australia.
Photographs released by the customs unit showed the six sugar gliders huddled together in a ­basket, as well as a box crammed with lizards.
'In a significant operation, ­customs officers... intercepted an Indian national... leading to the seizure of multiple live and deceased wildlife species, some of which are protected under ­wildlife protection laws', the Ministry of Finance said on Monday.
Wildlife trade monitor TRAFFIC, which battles the smuggling of wild animals and plants, yesterday warned of a 'very troubling' trend in trafficking driven by the exotic pet trade.
More than 7,000 animals, dead and alive, have been seized along the Thailand-India air route in the last three and a half years, it said.
Customs officers at Mumbai airport are more used to seizing smuggled gold, cash or cannabis – but instances of wildlife seizure have seen a gradual rise recently.
Customs officers seized dozens of snakes and several turtles from an Indian national flying from Thailand earlier in June.
Among them were several ­spider-tailed horned vipers, a ­venomous species classed as 'near-threatened' by the ­Inter­national Union for the Conservation of Nature. — AFP

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