Man arrested with Shahtoosh shawls worth Rs 25 lakh at IGI airport

Express News Service, Fri, Sep 30, 2011, New Delhi:

In the second wildlife seizure within a period of one month, a passenger alighting at Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport was arrested by the Customs department on Thursday for illegally smuggling Shahtoosh shawls worth Rs 25 lakh into the country from Almaty in Kazakhstan.

The passenger, Srinagar resident Tasaduq Hussain Joo, arrived from Almaty by flight KC-907 on Wednesday. “Suspecting that something was amiss, officials diverted him from the green channel for a detailed examination. His baggage contained four Shahtoosh shawls, which were later identified and certified by a wildlife inspector. Apart from the Shatoosh Shawls, the passenger was also carrying nine Pashmina Shawls,” a senior Customs’ official said.

“The international market price of the four Shahtoosh Shawls has been valued at Rs 25 lakh. Pashmina shawls are available for Rs 50,000 per shawl in the market,” the official said.

The total value of the seized goods was Rs 24.9 lakh. This is the second such seizure by IGI Customs officials this year, both of which occurred within a period of one month. On September 13, a similar case was registered against Srinagar resident Mudasir Gulam Ahmed Mugloo, and 25 Shahtoosh shawls were recovered from his possession. The value of the 25 Shahtoosh shawls was Rs 1.53 crore.

“These four Shahtoosh shawls (brought in by Joo) were seized under Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962, on the reasonable belief that the same were smuggled into India and were prohibited goods. Therefore, they are liable to be confiscated under the Custom Act, 1962, read with the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and CITES (Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), of which India is a signatory.

The remaining nine shawls,valued at Rs 90,000, were being used to conceal the four Shahtoosh shawls. They were also seized under the Customs Act, 1962. The passenger has been placed under arrest,” Customs’ Commissioner V K Goel said.

Shahtoosh shawls are woven from the hair of the Tibetan antelope (Chiru), mostly by Kashmiri weavers. As the shawls are in great demand, the antelopes are hunted down — pushing them to the brink of extinction.

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