The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has busted a wildlife smuggling syndicate with the arrest of two persons and seizure of a consignment of exotic macaws which had been smuggled from Bangladesh to Kolkata and was on its way to Bengaluru. The exotic birds were handed over to the Zoological Garden in Kolkata’s Alipore. The DRI said the possibility of spread of zoonotic diseases on account of smuggling in such exotic species was increasingly becoming a global concern against the backdrop of COVID-19. The agency said illegal wildlife trade was ranked the fourth largest transnational organised crime globally, after the smuggling of narcotics, counterfeit goods and human trafficking. West Bengal and northeast India are vulnerable to cross-border wildlife smuggling because of their proximity to the Bangladesh and Myanmar borders, and to Thailand.

Source: The Hindu June 22, 2020 12:02 UTC