Five Blue-and-Gold Macaws and 20 Indian Star Tortoises were rescued by a team of foresters from a house in Barasat earlier this week.
A team of foresters from the North 24-Parganas forest division received information that a team of smugglers were looking for buyers to sell off the birds and tortoises.
According to a senior forest department official, after receiving the tip-off they zeroed in on the house where the tortoises and the birds were kept and sent a team in.
The team found the macaws crammed inside small cages and the tortoises kept in a small crate used to transport milk in one of the rooms of the house.
The team arrested Sujan Dutta on the spot.
However, a man, who had a backpack on his shoulder, managed to give the foresters a slip.
“As we were entering the house we noticed a man, who had a backpack, start a motorcycle and leave the area at high speed. We chased him but he managed to evade our vehicle by taking advantage of the numerous narrow lanes and bylanes. We had information that he was carrying exotic reptiles in the bag,” another forester said.
The forest department has mounted a search for this man as they suspect that he too is part of an international wildlife smuggling ring.
Dutta, who was arrested from the house, is charged with charges pertaining to the possession of and trading in wild animals. He could not provide any papers stating that the macaws had been imported ethically and legally.
“The several wing feathers of the macaws are missing. These indicate that they had been smuggled into the country in very cramped conditions,” said the forest department official.
Blue-and-Gold Macaws are found throughout subtropical and tropical forests, woodlands and savannah in South America from Venezuela to Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia and Paraguay. They are also found in Mexico and Panama in Central America.
The Indian Star Tortoises are protected under the Indian Wildlife Act. But these are the most commonly smuggled species of tortoises.
“This species of tortoise happens to be one of the most traded tortoise species not only across India but across South and Southeast Asia. We are coming across such tortoises and turtle consignments in Barasat and Madhaymgram regularly,” said the official.