Wildlife smuggled on KL-Chennai flight same day minister inspected KLIA2

Summary

• Two Malaysia Airlines passengers tried to smuggle five primates, a civet cat, and two polecats into Chennai, India, from Kuala Lumpur.

• The Indian nationals were arrested after Chennai Customs officers inspected their bags and found the wildlife following a tip-off.

• Two gibbons and a civet cat were found dead. 

Two airline passengers were arrested at Anna International Airport, Chennai, after trying to smuggle primates, a civet cat, and a polecat in suitcases from Kuala Lumpur on March 7.

The incident happened on the same day Natural Resources and Environment Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad inspected KLIA’s Terminal 2 on wildlife trafficking enforcement, following a spate of busts by foreign authorities.

It is believed the flight that carried the animals to Chennai departed that night from KLIA’s Terminal 1.

According to the Chennai Customs Department, two Eastern grey gibbons and one Sumatran white bear palm civet died during the journey, while the other five animals survived.

They are one silver lutung, two marbled polecats, and two Eastern grey gibbons, said Chennai International Airport’s Customs Principal Commissioner Ramanav Srinivasa Naik.

The Malaysia Airlines passengers, who are Indian citizens, were intercepted by Chennai Customs’ Air Intelligence Unit following a tip-off.

“Both passengers were arrested under the Customs Act and were produced before the Judicial Magistrate Alandur Court, who remanded them to judicial custody,” he said. 

The surviving wildlife were fed and provided with water and will be re-exported to their countries of origin, he said. 

Of the species smuggled, only two - the silver lutung and the Eastern grey gibbon - are native to Malaysia, indicating the others were either bred for trade in Malaysia or trafficked into the country.

The primates can also be found in Indonesia, with the silver lutong a near-threatened species and the Eastern grey gibbon an endangered species facing population decline, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Among threats to the primates are habitat loss, hunting, and capture for the pet trade. 

Meanwhile, the Sumatran white beard palm civet, also known as the Sumatran masked palm civet, can be found in Indonesia, while the marbled polecat is native to southeastern Europe, Russia, and China.

Wildlife trafficking hub

According to Indian authorities, in 2023, there were eight cases of wildlife seizures involving flights from KLIA and KLIA2, while the figure rose to 12 in 2024. 

Besides the March 7 cases, there were two other reported cases of wildlife smuggling by air passengers from Kuala Lumpur to India this year. 

They were siamang and pig-tailed macaques trafficked into Mumbai and Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, respectively, in passengers’ checked-in luggage. 

Nik Nazmi had on March 7 inspected the wildlife trade enforcement activities and observed a wildlife detection simulation using Perhilitan sniffer dogs at KLIA2.

During the Friday visit, Nik Nazmi received a briefing from Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) on the baggage screening system at the airport.

MAHB handles all check-in luggage, while the Customs Department inspects hand luggage carried by passengers onto planes.

On Feb 18, Malaysian authorities foiled an attempt by two passengers to smuggle more than 4,000 pig-nosed turtles (above) in their suitcases to Hanoi, Vietnam, from KLIA. 

On March 10, an airline passenger was arrested at KLIA2 when he tried to travel to Surabaya, Indonesia, with five Asian koel birds in PVC pipes in his checked-in luggage. 

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