Context: Recently, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has busted a wildlife syndicate (smuggling group) which was involved in smuggling of exotic macaws from Bangladesh.
Key Points

• The joint operation was carried out in coordination with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) and the Customs Department at the Kolkata airport.
• The possibility of spread of zoonotic diseases on account of smuggling in such exotic species was increasingly becoming a global concern against the backdrop of COVID-19.
• The Sections 48 and 49 of the Wildlife Protection Act prohibit trade or commerce in wild animals, animal articles or trophies. The accused can be sentenced to seven years of jail for the offence.
• The illegal wildlife trade was ranked the fourth largest transnational organised crime globally, after the smuggling of narcotics, counterfeit goods and human trafficking.
• West Bengal and northeast India are vulnerable to cross-border wildlife smuggling because of their proximity to the Bangladesh and Myanmar borders, and to Thailand.

About Macaws

• The birds were identified as Hyacinth Macaw, Pesquet’s Parrot, Severe Macaw and Hahn’s Macaw.
• Where Hyacinth Macaw is a parrot native to central and eastern South America.
• With a length of about one meter it is longer than any other species of parrot.
• It is the largest macaw and the largest flying parrot species.
• The majority of macaw species are now endangered in the wild and a few are extinct.
• Threat: Habitat loss and the trapping of wild birds for the pet trade have taken a heavy toll on their population in the wild.

Protection Status:

• International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List: Vulnerable
• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES): Appendix I
• Protection under CITES implies ban in global and domestic trade of the species.

About Directorate of Revenue Intelligence

• The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence is the apex anti-smuggling agency of India.
• It works under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
• The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence was constituted on 4th December 1957.
• It detects and curbs smuggling of contraband (goods that have been imported or exported illegally), including drug trafficking and illicit international trade in wildlife and environmentally sensitive items.
• It also combats commercial frauds related to international trade and evasion of Customs duty.