Customs officials at Mumbai Airport have seized 100kg of peacock feathers headed for Dubai, according to Indian media reports.

Four Dubai-bound passengers, who were carrying the feathers in six travel bags, were arrested at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Monday.

The seized material has been handed over to the forest department for further investigation, said a report citing Vignesh S, deputy commissioner of the air intelligence unit (AIU) at Mumbai Customs.

According to Maharashtra forest department, this was the largest seizure of peacock feathers in Mumbai.

Peacocks are protected under schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA), 1972, and export of their feathers is prohibited under India’s export-import (Exim) policy, according to the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB).

However, trade in naturally-shed feathers is not a crime under the WPA.

SOURCE : GULFNEWS