Man detained for smuggling protected animals in Thane

A man was detained for allegedly smuggling protected species of birds and animals at Thane railway station in Maharashtra on Tuesday, an official said.

Acting on a tip-off, forest officials detained Mohammad Khalil Riaz Ahmed alias Jayad Khan (24), who was travelling in Coimbatore-LTT Express, at Thane station, Thane range forest officer Narendra Muthe said.

Khan was found carrying four Indian star tortoises, three falcons, a black-shouldered kite and an Eurasian eagle- owl, in cardboard boxes, he said.

A resident of Bengaluru, Khan has been booked under relevant provisions of the Protection of Wildlife Act of 1972, Muthe said, adding that he would be produced in court and later placed under arrest.

The accused had procured the animals, valued at Rs 2.50 lakh, from Bengaluru, and the authorities are probing to whom he was planning to sell them.