Bengaluru Becomes New Hotspot for Exotic Wildlife Smuggling, Surpassing Chennai

Bengaluru: Once dubbed the unofficial gateway for exotic wildlife trafficking into India, Chennai has now ceded that notoriety to Bengaluru. Recent RTI data reveals that Karnataka’s capital has overtaken the Tamil Nadu metropolis in the number of exotic species seizures over the past year.

Customs officials at Kempegowda International Airport recorded 23 seizures involving smuggled wildlife from Thailand and Malaysia during the 2024–25 period. By contrast, Chennai airport logged just about 10 such cases. This marks a sharp reversal from the previous year, when Chennai saw 17 seizures, and Bengaluru just four.

Mumbai is witnessing a surge too. The city’s airport reported approximately 10 seizures in 2024–25, up significantly from one or two in the previous cycle; a signal that smuggling corridors are expanding or recalibrating.

Investigators point out that the shift is not about different players, but the same international smuggling syndicates adjusting routes in response to increased surveillance at Chennai. Their assumption is backed by the arrest profiles at Bengaluru airport, as many of the couriers hail from Tamil Nadu (particularly Chennai and Tiruchirapalli) and districts across central and southern Tamil Nadu (including Ramanathapuram and Sivagangai). 

Authorities have also traced connections to Tamil operatives based in Thailand and Malaysia who are already under watch. The syndicate’s network appears deeply rooted and agile, simply shifting ports of entry as enforcement pressure builds.

Customs officials estimate that only about 10% of all trafficked animals are intercepted. That figure underscores the scale of this illegal industry, one largely driven by demand in India’s black-market pet trade. Exotic animals continue to be sold through social media platforms and informal storefronts, keeping enforcement agencies in a constant game of cat-and-mouse.