Exotic wildlife species smuggling: Chennai loses its 'crown' to B'luru

Mumbai emerging as hub; same TN-based gangs involved in activities in these airports

- SIDDHARTH PRABHAKAR @ Chennai

A few years after Chennai being internationally identified as the Indian hub for exotic wildlife species smuggled from south-east Asian countries, official data obtained through RTI on the number of seizures indicates that the 'crown' now belongs to Bengaluru in Karnataka.

Customs officials at Bengaluru airport in 2024-25 made 23 seizures of exotic species smuggled from Thailand and Malaysia; in comparison, their counterparts at Chennai airport made only around 10 such seizures during the same period.

In contrast, Chennai airport had witnessed 17 such seizures in 2023-24, while in Bengaluru there were only four. Mumbai is also emerging as another destination for wildlife smugglers, as the airport recorded around 10 seizures in 2024-25, up from only one or two in the previous year.