Guwahati: Airlines staff at Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport (LGBI) in Guwahati are on high alert for smuggled wildlife products.
This comes as criminal organizations increasingly use air travel to traffic animal parts and endangered species.
To equip them with detection skills, a workshop on illegal wildlife trade (IWT) was held on Monday, (March 18).
Organized by the wildlife conservation group Aaranyak and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), the session targeted staff involved in security checks for both passenger luggage and cargo.
The workshop aimed to train participants in identifying, detecting, and reporting suspicious wildlife products. It was supported by the USFWS (presumably the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).
Representatives from Indigo, Vistara, Akasa, and Air India airlines participated, along with personnel from service providers like Blue Dart Aviation, BATS, AAI Cargo Logistics, AAI CLAS, GIAL (Guwahati International Airport Ltd.), and CISF security.
Aaranyak’s Dr. Jimmy Borah (Senior Manager) and Ivy Farheen Hussain (Project Officer and Wildlife Crime Analyst) provided expertise alongside Rabin Bora from WCCB.
Hussain opened the session by highlighting the growing threat of illegal wildlife trade and the crucial role airline staff play in disrupting these criminal networks.