Indian Customs officers at Mumbai airport have arrested a passenger after discovering two endangered Silvery Gibbons hidden inside a checked trolley bag. One of the primates was found dead, while the other was rescued alive and later seen being gently held by an officer in a video released by authorities.

The seizure was made after officials, acting on specific intelligence, searched the baggage of a traveler who had arrived from Malaysia via Thailand. The gibbons, native to the rainforests of Java, Indonesia, had been concealed in a basket inside the luggage.

In addition to the animals, officers also recovered nearly 8 kilograms of hydroponic cannabis from the passenger’s belongings. The smuggling attempt is believed to be linked to a wider wildlife trafficking network operating between Southeast Asia and India.

The Silvery Gibbon (Hylobates moloch) is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with only an estimated 2,500 to 4,000 individuals remaining in the wild. The species faces severe threats from habitat loss, hunting, and the illegal pet trade.

According to TRAFFIC, a global wildlife trade monitoring network, more than 7,000 wild animals—alive and dead—have been seized along the Thailand–India air route over the past three and a half years, highlighting a growing trend in exotic pet trafficking.

The latest seizure adds to a series of recent smuggling incidents at Mumbai airport. In the past few months, customs officers have intercepted passengers carrying snakes, tortoises, raccoons, vipers, lizards, sunbirds, and other protected species. Earlier this year, authorities also rescued five Siamang Gibbons, another endangered ape species, from a similar operation.

Wildlife enforcement agencies continue to warn that the illegal trade in exotic animals poses a severe threat to biodiversity, while also facilitating the spread of zoonotic diseases and fueling global criminal networks.