The air passenger, who traveled from Malaysia via Thailand, was arrested in Mumbai on Thursday after Indian customs received information about the person.
“A subsequent search of the person’s checked baggage, a rolling suitcase, led to the discovery and seizure of two silvery gibbons, one live and one dead, which were hidden in a basket,” the Indian Customs Authority said.
The species is found only in parts of the Indonesian island of Java and is one of the most endangered primates. The surviving monkey was reportedly seen in a video from Indian customs lying in the arms of a customs officer.
Customs officials suspect the passenger received the rare monkeys from a “syndicate” that smuggles wildlife for delivery to India. The arrest is one of several recent raids on smugglers at the airport.
The organization Traffic, which works to protect endangered species and stop the trade in animal parts, warned this summer of a "very worrying" smuggling trend driven by the trade in exotic pets.
Over 7,000 animals, dead and alive, have been seized along the flight route between Thailand and India in the past 3.5 years, according to the organization.
