Bollywood Director Arrested for Wildlife Smuggling at Indonesian Airport

Raama Mehra, a Bollywood director, found himself in legal trouble at Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Indonesia when customs officials discovered wildlife concealed in his luggage. The 56-year-old director was apprehended after an X-ray scan of his suitcase revealed two birds of paradise and an otter, species protected under international and Indonesian law.

Gatot Sugeng Wibowo, Head of Soekarno-Hatta Customs and Excise, disclosed that the animals, including a lesser bird-of-paradise and an Albino small-clawed otter, were concealed among food items, clothes, and children’s toys. These animals, regulated under CITES due to their endangered status, require special permits for transport.

Raama Mehra, who admitted to being a Bollywood actor and director, claimed innocence, stating that a friend in India had entrusted him with the suitcase. However, authorities named him a suspect under customs laws, potentially facing severe penalties including up to 10 years in prison and a significant fine.

The smuggled animals have been placed under the care of the Jakarta Natural Resource Conservation Agency, underscoring Indonesia’s commitment to protecting its biodiversity from illegal wildlife trade.

Not Your Tee By Tiny Rescue: Animal Collection

Related Content:

• Police Crackdown on Wildlife Trafficking and Seize Enormous Amount of Animals
• Why Wildlife Trafficking is Not Just Immoral But Extremely Unsafe
• America’s Role in the Illegal Wildlife Trafficking Trade and How to Stop It
• UN Report Highlights the Prevalence of Wildlife Trafficking

Easy Ways to Help the Planet:

• Eat Less Meat: Download Food Monster, the largest plant-based Recipe app on the App Store, to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy. You can also buy a hard or soft copy of our favorite vegan cookbooks.
• Adopt-a-Pet: Visit WildWatchers, a watchdog platform specifically designed for animal, earth, and wildlife warriors to actively give back, rescue, and protect animals and the planet.
• Reduce Your Fast Fashion Footprint: Take initiative by standing up against fast fashion Pollution and supporting sustainable and circular brands like Tiny Rescue that raise awareness around important issues through recycled zero-waste clothing designed to be returned and remade repeatedly.
• Support Independent Media: Being publicly funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!
• Sign a Petition: Your voice matters! Help turn petitions into victories by signing the latest list of must-sign petitions to help people, animals, and the planet.
• Stay Informed: Keep up with the latest news and important stories involving animals, the environment, sustainable living, food, health, and human interest topics by subscribing to our newsletter!
• Do What You Can: Reduce waste, plant trees, eat local, travel responsibly, reuse stuff, say no to single-use plastics, recycle, vote smart, switch to cold water laundry, divest from fossil fuels, save water, shop wisely, Donate if you can, grow your food, volunteer, conserve energy, compost, and don’t forget about the microplastics and microbeads lurking in common household and personal care products!