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Customs seize rats among smuggled animals on SriLankan flight
By T.K.G. Kapila
Katunayake, March 6 (Daily Mirror) - A business couple was arrested last evening at the arrival lounge of the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) by Customs officials for attempting to smuggle 88 live animals worth Rs. 4 million into the country.
The animals were imported from Thailand while violating Sri Lanka's Wildlife and Flora Ordinance, Animal Diseases Act and Customs Ordinance.
The suspects were arrested with the live animals following a joint raid conducted by a group of officials from the Revenue Monitoring Division of the Customs, the Biodiversity Unit of the Customs, and the Animal Quarantine Institute of the Department of Agriculture.
The young business couple is a resident of the Puwakpitiya area in Avissawella, and they arrived at the BIA at 4.35 p.m. from Bankok via SriLankan Airlines flight UL-405.
The animals were packed in small plastic boxes with ventilation holes. The animals included fish, frogs, squirrels, turtles, lizards, hamsters, salamanders, species of worms, and rats.
Katunayake airport Customs officials said that it was strange that this stock of live animals had not caught the eye of the airport security officers or Customs officers in Bangkok, Thailand.
This young business couple has been detained by the Sri Lanka Customs and further investigations are being carried out. Meanwhile, these animals have been handed over to the Katunayake Airport Animal Quarantine until the investigations are completed.
Pix by T.K.G. Kapila
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