Key Points:

• Smuggling Route: Bangkok (Thailand) → Bengaluru
• Airline Used: Thai Airways

Seized Wildlife:

• 9 Wagler’s Pit Vipers (venomous, no antidote in India)
• 1 Common Spotted Cuscus
• 1 Opossum

Modus Operandi:

• Wildlife concealed in cloth bags with small holes for breathing
• Jagadisha Raman (35), acting as a mule, picked up the bag
• Handed over to a local businessman (receiver)
• Both arrested at the airport exit point

Wildlife Protection Act, 1972

Objective:

• Protect wildlife & prevent illegal trade.

Key Features:

• Prohibits hunting/trade of protected species.
• Protected Areas: National Parks, Sanctuaries, Reserves.

Related Constitutional Article:

• Article 48A – Protection and improvement of environment and safeguarding of forests and wildlife (Directive Principles of State Policy).

Article 51A(g) – Fundamental duty to protect and improve the natural environment, including forests and wildlife.