Summary

  • An Indian national travelling from Malaysia to India has been arrested at the Mumbai Airport for smuggling five baby siamang gibbons.

  • Three of the five gibbons are found dead while the remaining two are in critical condition.

  • Local wildlife authorities and experts will treat the surviving gibbons and send them back to their country of origin when they have recovered.

An Indian national travelling from Malaysia to India was arrested at the Mumbai Airport on Tuesday for smuggling five baby siamang gibbons in his cabin luggage.

According to the Mumbai Customs, the primates were “ingenuously concealed” in plastic boxes of cages, which were then placed in a trolley bag.

Abdul Rahman Ahamaed, who originated from Chennai, was arrested after he landed at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport from Kuala Lumpur, Press Trust India reported.

“While three of the five siamang gibbons were found dead, the remaining two are in a very critical state,” an official reportedly said.

The official said Rahman has been arrested under India’s Customs Act and the Wildlife (Protection) Act pending further investigation.

The surviving siamang gibbons were handed over to Mumbai’s wildlife expert team from Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare for immediate medical care, upkeep, and stabilisation in consultation with the state Forest Department and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau.

The official said the rescued animals will be sent back to their country of origin once they are stable and fit.

Siamang gibbons are critically endangered arboreal primates native to the forests of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.

The species is listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and Schedule Four of India’s Wildlife (Protection) Act.

Not the first time

This is the latest in a spate of cases where Indian authorities arrested passengers from Kuala Lumpur smuggling wildlife in their suitcases.

Last October, a Malaysian woman was arrested at the Chennai Airport for smuggling four siamang gibbons and 52 iguanas in her suitcase.

It was the third case of smuggling from Kuala Lumpur to Chennai foiled by the authorities there between August to October 2024.

On Oct 8, the Chennai Customs Department seized 3,220 e-cigarettes, two iPhone 16s, and two gold chains weighing 700g - all valued at INR10.2 million (RM520,000).

The goods were carried by four individuals flying in from Kuala Lumpur.

On Sept 27, the department intercepted nearly 5,000 turtles, carried by passengers from Kuala Lumpur.

There were 4,967 red-eared slider turtles and 19 albino red-eared slider turtles, the department said.

The month before that, it seized 778 Indian star tortoises from the baggage of a passenger departing from Chennai to Kuala Lumpur.