Customs officials bust smuggling racket, rescue 30 star tortoises at Bengaluru airport

The air intelligence unit of the Customs Department busted an international smuggling racket and arrested a 29-year-old mule trying to smuggle Indian star tortoises from Bengaluru to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), concealed in check-in bags.

The scanning staff at Bengaluru airport noticed something moving in a bag and alerted officials, who, in turn, checked three bags carried by Ashik Ali Shahul Hameed from Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu. The bags contained 10 tortoises and tobacco products. Tobacco products are banned in Malaysia.

The accused had used adhesive tapes in an attempt to restrict leg movement of the tortoises, and concealed the animals in socks, hidden between tobacco pouches.

Sources said he had procured the consignment from Chikkaballapur, received them at Kalasipalya bus stand, before heading to the airport. “It is a well organised racket. Star tortoises are hunted in the Eastern Ghats and brought to Chikkaballpur from where they are dispatched to different destinations,” said a police source.

The initial probe revealed that Hameed is a habitual offender who had worked as mule in similar offences earlier.

The rescued tortoises have been handed over to the Forest Department for rehabilitation.

Officials said that while animals being smuggled via Bengaluru is common, this is a rare instance of animals being smuggled abroad. It is the second such instance in the last 15 years, sources said.

They have alerted other airports, since there is a possibility of such activities being carried out through other routes.