Man flies into Bengaluru with 10 yellow anacondas in suitcase

Bengaluru Customs intercepted a passenger with 10 anacondas in his suitcase

A man was caught at Bengaluru airport on Monday with 10 yellow anacondas in his suitcase. According to Bengaluru Customs, the man had concealed the snakes in his checked-in baggage. He had travelled to the Karnataka capital from Bangkok on a Thai AirAsia flight April 20.

The 56-year-old coffee trader agreed to smuggle the baby anacondas into India at the behest of a person he met in Bangkok, reported The New Indian Express (TNIE). Three of the snakes in his suitcase were found dead.

“The person was tempted by the prospect of making easy money. Someone at the Bangkok airport has approached him and promised Rs 20,000 if he handed over the suitcase to someone in Bengaluru. He agreed to do it. This individual had visited Bangkok as a tourist,” a Customs official told TNIE.

#Indiancustomsatwork Bengaluru Air #Customs intercepted attempt to smuggle 10 yellow Anacondas concealed in checked-in bag of a pax arriving from Bangkok. Pax arrested and investigation is underway. Wildlife trafficking will not be tolerated. #CITES#WildlifeProtectionpic.twitter.com/2634Bxk1Hw

— Bengaluru Customs (@blrcustoms) April 22, 2024

Yellow anacondas can fetch anywhere between Rs 40,000 to Rs 1 lakh each on the market. These snakes are often targeted by smugglers to be sold as exotic pets. The coffee trader who smuggled the snakes into Bengaluru had wrapped each one in cotton bags. Each snake measured between 2 ft and 2.5 ft.

Bengaluru Customs received information of the smuggling attempt and intercepted the man. They also detected the snakes while scanning his baggage. The man reached Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport on Thai AirAsia Flight FD-137 at 10.44 pm on April 20.

“Based on our interaction with wildlife traffickers in the past, it is clear that this is the first time he has been indulging in such an act,” a source told TNIE.