Government officials seize exotic birds smuggled into West Bengal from Bangladesh; second such incident in a month

Kolkata: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized exotic birds which were smuggled from Bangladesh into West Bengal, an agency statement said on Thursday.Acting on a specific input, DRI officials intercepted a vehicle at a place along Kalyani Expressway near Kolkata and found three red and blue macaws, three eclectus parrots, eight pygmy falcons and seven white ducks, the statement said.[caption id="attachment_4620301" align="alignleft" width="380"]

The smugglers were apprehended near Kolkata. Getty Images.[/caption]The birds were found badly crammed into plastic bags and kept in the boot of the car, it said.These birds were illegally brought into the country from Bangladesh through the Indo-Bangla border in North 24 Parganas district, it said.The probe agency said it immediately contacted the office of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, West Bengal and also the Director of Alipore zoo, Kolkata.The birds were handed over by the DRI to the zoo.In March this year, the agency had seized 214 Indian star tortoise in Kolkata.Less than a month ago, two hoolock gibbons, an endangered species under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and two palm civets, another endangered species, along with a variety of exotic birds, which had been smuggled into the country from Bangladesh seized by the DRI."There is an urgent need to step up the fight against wildlife crime, which has an environmental, social, and economic impact and a concerted effort is needed by all the law enforcement agencies in combating the same," the agency said.