Customs officers at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMI), Mumbai, intercepted two passengers arriving from Bangkok and recovered 12 exotic turtles hidden inside their baggage on November 4, 2024.
The turtles were concealed in plastic boxes, hidden among food packets inside the passengers’ trolley bags. Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, Western Region, Navi Mumbai identified these species as 8 Japanese Pond Turtles (Mauremys japonica) and 4 Scorpion Mud Turtles or Red Cheek Mud Turtles (Kinosternon scorpioides) which are listed in Appendix-II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) and Schedule IV of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of Customs intercepted two passengers identified as Abdul Rahman (39) and Kadir Moinuddin (44) who arrived from Bangkok.
The seized turtles were handed over to airline staff for deportation to their country of origin. The passengers have been arrested, and proceedings have been initiated under the Customs Act, 1962 and the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
The officials are now probing who had supplied these turtles to the accused and who was supposed to receive them in Mumbai.
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