Passenger caught smuggling 45 animals at Mumbai airport; Several suffocated in transit

On Saturday, 45 exotic animals, including iguanas, black foxes, and raccoons, were confiscated from a traveler at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in this city, according to an official.

He claimed that after arriving in the city early in the morning on a Thai Airways flight, the traveler was apprehended.

A Customs team searched his suitcase and found 45 creatures, including iguanas, black foxes, raccoons, and hyraxes, which resemble rabbits.

However, according to the official, a large number of the wild creatures had already perished from suffocation and the way they were being trafficked.

According to the official, the animals were handled and stabilized with assistance from experts from the Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare. In accordance with the Wildlife Protection Act , the animals will be returned to their home country.