Bizarre: Man found with crocodile head at Delhi airport; check what wildlife officials did
In a bizarre incident at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, customs officials intercepted a Canadian national carrying a severed crocodile head in his luggage. The man, who was travelling through Terminal 3, raised suspicions due to his unusual behaviour, leading to the discovery.
During questioning, the man revealed that he had purchased the crocodile head as a souvenir during his trip to Thailand. However, as per officials, transporting wildlife products requires proper permits, which the traveller failed to produce. The incident occurred late on January 5. The customs team detained the man for further investigation.
A team from the state forest and wildlife department, led by Deputy Range Officer Rajesh Tandon, was called to identify the specimen. The team confirmed that the severed head belonged to a crocodile, a species protected under India’s Wildlife Protection Act. Officials mentioned that lab tests would be conducted to determine the exact species of the crocodile.
The forest department has taken custody of the crocodile head and stated that the traveller violated regulations by failing to obtain special permission to transport wildlife items. Customs is initiating strict action under the Wildlife Protection Act.
This incident follows a similar case from August last year, when a Canadian woman attempted to smuggle animal horns out of India, claiming to have found them during a trek in Ladakh.
Grilled crocodile in shopping mall
In 2019, a grilled crocodile was spotted for sale in a Bangkok shopping mall. The skinless crocodile was on a spit roast, with a vendor carving meat from it. The one who filmed it felt sorry for the crocodile and said the smell of the meat took away their appetite.
