(COLOMBO) – Many Sri Lankan fishermen who are known to smuggle contraband into the island-nation, mainly narcotics, have now switched to a new merchandise such as exotic birds and reptiles, the navy has found out.
In a rare detection a Sri Lankan multi-day fishing trawler was nabbed in the deep seas with an assortment of exotic birds and pythons which are not native to Sri Lanka, raising concerns that the cargo was meant to be loaded onto a foreign vessel.
A senior naval official reported that the navy inspected the boat on suspicion of narcotics smuggling but instead discovered 13 pythons, 3 parrots, a monitor lizard, and a single tortoise. “They are all endangered species,” he said.
The boat was intercepted following intelligence reports that the vessel was moving in the deep seas for a considerable period of time, he said.
Local experts examined the animals and determined that they were of foreign breed, while the crew was charged for smuggling exotic animals and insects.
