(COLOMBO) – A young Sri Lankan business couple was arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) while attempting to smuggle into the country 88 live animals and other creatures including rats worth some Rs. 4 million, official said on Tuesday.
They said that the contraband had been brought from Thailand in violation of the country’s Wildlife and Flora Ordinance, Animal Diseases Act and Customs Ordinance.
The suspects were arrested with the live animals and insects following an iinspection of their baggage 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 couple had arrived at the BIA on a scheduled SriLankan Airlines flight light from Bangkok.
The animals and species were packed in small plastic boxes with ventilation holes. They included fish, frogs, squirrels, turtles, lizards, hamsters, salamanders, species of worms, and even rats.
Airport officials are puzzled as to how the contraband was able to pass through Customs control in Bangkok, Thailand.
The couple has been detained for further investigations while the animals and the other species have been handed over to the Katunayake Airport Animal Quarantine until the investigations are completed.
