A flock of parrots were presented at the Patiala House Court in New Delhi after they were rescued from a smuggler at the IGI airport.
While scanning the baggage at the airport, the CISF personnel spotted images of birds in shoe boxes kept inside a passenger’s bag. The passenger was a 24-year-old Uzbekistan national, who claimed that those were soft toys. But when the officials checked the boxes, they found 12 unconscious parrots.
The Uzbek man was trying to smuggle them ’cause the demand for this breed is very high in his country.
The customs investigation revealed that the purchase of these parrots is prohibited according to the Wildlife Act.
One of the parrots tried to fly away while being rescued but was caught by a customs official. Speaking about the incident, P. C. Agarwal, Special Public Prosecutor of the customs department said:
The accused is a resident of Uzbekistan and he bought the parrots from a roadside parrot seller.
The investigation is still open and at present, the court has sent the accused to judicial custody for 14 days.