Bengal: Exotic birds worth Rs 14 lakh seized near Indo-Bangla border

The birds, worth around Rs 14 lakh, were seized in a search operation conducted by a special team of the Border Security Force (BSF) in the forest area near the Angrail border outpost on Thursday, they said. During the search operation, the BSF team spotted two persons hiding behind the bushes, officials said.

The BSF seized a pair of exotic toucans from near the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, officials said on Friday. The birds, worth around Rs 14 lakh, were seized in a search operation conducted by a special team of the Border Security Force (BSF) in the forest area near the Angrail border outpost on Thursday, they said.

During the search operation, the BSF team spotted two persons hiding behind the bushes, officials said. Soon, they started running and threw away a cage that had the two birds, they said.

The duo managed to flee due to dense vegetation in the area, the BSF said. "The seized birds have been handed over to Zoological Garden, Alipore," it said.

The seized pair of the keel-billed toucan is a colourful Latin American member of the toucan family, it added..