New Delhi: Mizoram Police, in a joint operation with Champhai Excise and Narcotics Department, seized and rescued 140 exotic animals and birds in Champhai, suspected to be smuggled from Myanmar, news agency ANI reported.
According to reports, police arrested three persons in connection to the seizure and intercepted three vehicles.
The rescued animals include 30 tortoises, two monkeys, two Marmoset monkey, 22 Pythons, 18 Sumatran Water Monitor, 55 crocodiles (hatchlings), four Flame Powerbirds, four Servel cats, and one Albino Wallaby.
The rescued birds and animals were handed over to the Superintendent, Custom Preventive Force, for further action and probe on the matter is underway, ANI reported.
In a similar incident last month, a total of 41 rare wild animals were rescued in Assam’s Kamrup district, as per reports.
The rescued animals included 19 wild and two rare species of monkeys, 18 turtles and two parrots.
However, two of the turtles died few hours after the rescue.
Notably, the rescued monkeys were of six different species which are suspected to be transported from Thailand or Myanmar.
Two persons, identified as Raghu Singh and Karthik, hailing from Tamil Nadu, were arrested in this connection.
It is to be noted that at least 94 animals of exotic species, including 29 leopard tortoises, 38 red-footed tortoises, three albino iguanas, and two pythons, were rescued in Mizoram from February 2021 to July 2022.