4 grivet monkeys seized at Dhaka airport

The Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport's air freight unit have seized four grivet monkeys brought without a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Forest Department.

The animals, imported from Mali, were seized on January 21, according to officials.

Yesterday, the airfreight unit sent a letter to the director of the wildlife crime control unit regarding the incident.

"Based on the information, we rescued the monkeys and released them for quarantine at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park in Gazipur today," Ashim Kumar Mallic, wildlife inspector, told The Daily Star.

He said that generally, wildlife is imported by an institute and released by the Customs Clearing & Forwarding (C&F) agents. Besides, one has to take NOC from the authority concerned for importing the wildlife, said the inspector.

These monkeys were imported by one Abu Bakar Siddique, a resident of Bogura.

The Daily Star could not reach him over the phone.

Grivet monkeys can sell for $4,500 and up. These monkeys can live up to 25 years in captivity, according to bubblypet.com.