A Canadian man was arrested at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in Delhi for allegedly carrying a crocodile skull in his bag, the customs department revealed on Thursday.
The man was stopped during a security check at Terminal 3 on Monday while preparing to board a flight to Montreal.
“Upon inspection, a skull with sharp teeth resembling the jaw of a baby crocodile, weighing about 777 grams, was discovered wrapped in a cream-coloured cloth,” the customs department stated in a post on X.
The Delhi government’s Department of Forests and Wildlife conducted tests and confirmed that the skull’s texture, tooth pattern, bony palate, and nostrils matched those of a baby crocodile.
The skull is from a species protected under Schedule-I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (WLPA), the department noted. Further analysis by the Wildlife Institute of India in Dehradun is needed to determine the exact species, the customs department added.
The passenger has been arrested, and the confiscated skull was handed over to the Department of Forests and Wildlife (West Division, Government of NCT Delhi) for laboratory testing.
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“This case underscores a grave breach of wildlife and customs laws. Collaboration between customs and forest departments is essential to prevent the smuggling of such protected wildlife items,” the department emphasised.
(With inputs from PTI)
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