The Customs Department recently caught a case of smuggling of peacock feathers through the Cochin International Airport at Nedumbassery. The arrest of two Tamil Nadu natives with about 25 kg of peacock feathers was similar to a seizure earlier this month, sparking concern of a racket operating to smuggle feathers to Malaysia and other countries.
“This is the second case in a month and we cannot take the issue lightly. We are on alert for smuggling of peacock feathers through the airport,” said a Customs official. Besides being a security threat, the smuggling also poses a threat to wildlife.
The department is working closely with the Forest Department to trace the source of the feathers. “From the quantity being smuggled, it doesn’t look as if the feathers are being picked off the ground from areas with plenty of peacocks. There has to be some hidden location where the smugglers are illegally harvesting the birds,” said the official.
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The accused were carrying bills of sale for the feathers and said they were being taken abroad for use at a Murugan temple in Malaysia. The bills, however, could have easily been forged. Export of the feathers is illegal under the Wildlife Protection Act.
Security for informants
The recent attack on a student who informed his school principal about the sale of tobacco products near his school has raised the issue of security for informants. While the police are focusing on finding the assailants in the case, they are concerned about how the attack will affect those who wish to pass on information about any illegal activity to the police.
“Informants are a very important part of policing. The police take all measures to ensure that their identities are not revealed,” said a police officer.
The anti-tobacco club in the school, of which the victim was a member, was formed under a project of the Excise Department. The objective of the club was to raise awareness against the use of tobacco, drugs and intoxicating substances. After the attack on Jishnu, Excise officials visited the Udayamperoor SNDP School to assure the shocked students to ensure that their security would be taken care of. The Excise and police departments, however, are unwilling to comment on who was responsible for informing the assailants that the Class XI students had complained about sale of tobacco. One of the boy’s relatives said that the child had told many of his classmates too that he was going to complain to the principal.