The Assam police on Thursday, September 8, 2022 seized 40 exotic animals from two Delhi-registered SUVs that travelled from the Mizoram-Myanmar border and were bound for Siliguri in northern West Bengal.
This was the biggest seizure of smuggled exotic animals in Assam. The animals included joeys or baby wallabies, chimpanzees, monkeys and tortoises.
“The Rangiya police intercepted the vehicles following a tip-off and detained two people after finding the rare animals packed in cages. The two said they travelled from the Mizoram-Myanmar border and were heading for Siliguri for delivering the consignment,” Hitesh Chandra Roy, the Superintendent of Police of Kamrup district told The Hindu.
Mr. Roy said the two persons caught with the exotic animals were being interrogated for information about others involved in the animal-trafficking trade.
The animals have been handed over to the Assam Forest officials for deciding what to do with them. A wildlife official said they may initially be kept at the zoo in Guwahati and checked for any health issues.
Assam Forest officials said Myanmar, despite the civil war, has been the source of most exotic animals smuggled into the northeast and then to the “mainland” with northern West Bengal becoming a hub of this illegal trade.
