Indian national, 41, allegedly exported thousands of red-eared sliders from S'pore fish farm illegally

Rafique Syed Hariza Ali Hussain, a 41-year-old Singapore permanent resident and male Indian national, allegedly exported thousands of terrapins from Singapore to India without a license.

He did so by apparently stuffing them into baggage by the thousands, subjecting the red-eared sliders to "unnecessary pain and suffering".

The scheme was lucrative. Rafique was offered S$500 by a male Indian national known to him as "Anand", based in India, for each successful delivery.

Investigations revealed that the terrapins were being exported for commercial purposes to India, and would be sold there for approximately S$7.75 to S$12.40 each.

India has restricted the importation of red-eared sliders as they are considered an invasive species there.

You can import, export or re-export red-eared sliders as personal pets, according to the National Parks Board (NParks), but you need to obtain a letter of authorisation and meet the import requirements of the destination country.

Modus operandi

Here's how the smuggling operation appears to have worked.

1. Placing the orders from a local fish farm

Prior to each trip, Rafique would place an order with an employee known as "Palani" who works at Qian Hu Fish Farm.

Typically, the orders would be for between 3,000 to 10,000 terrapins, each costing between S$1.15 to S$1.30, to be exported to India.

"Palani" would pack the terrapins into styrofoam boxes, and Rafique would arrange for the boxes to be delivered to his rental unit at Block 54 Toa Payoh.

2. Handed over to a receiver in India

Rafique would then remove the terrapins from the boxes, pack them into cloth bags, which would be placed in cardboard boxes.

These boxes were then put into several pieces of baggage to be checked in on a flight to India.

Upon arriving at the airport in India, Rafique would hand over the baggage to a receiver appointed by Anand.

This receiver would then pay Rafique and give him an empty baggage for the next round of delivery.

Rafique admitted to carrying out this scheme on at least 10 previous occasions prior to the one on Nov. 7, 2023, where things went awry for him.

Plan was foiled on Nov. 7, 2023

On Nov. 7, Rafique was attempting to export over 10,000 terrapins with another man, one Ramasami Dharmarajan.

The terrapins had been packed into four different pieces of baggage. Rafique took two (containing 5,170 terrapins), and Ramasami took the other two (containing 5,610), and checked them in on Scoot flight TR540.

When they arrived in India, Rafique and Ramasami, along with 15 others, were subjected to a physical check by the Indian Customs Authority.

Rafique was apparently asked if had gold items in his checked baggage, to which he denied and claimed that he in fact only had a carry-on bag.

He then left the terminal without collecting his checked baggage from the belt.

Upon informing Anand of what happened, he was told to head back to Singapore but remained in India. Since he failed the delivery, he was also not paid.

He came back to Singapore only on Nov. 9, however.

On Nov. 11, the National Parks Board was notified that 10,780 red-eared sliders were to be deported from India to Singapore.

Rafique was soon identified as one of the two Indian nationals that had exported the terrapins; he was then placed on a watchlist by the Immigration and Checkpoint Authority (ICA).

On Mar. 18, 2024, Rafique was arrested as he was about to leave Singapore with his family.

Animal cruelty

The terrapins experienced pain and suffering, according to an Animal Health and Welfare Assessment Report.

The manner of their transport also violated International Air Transport Association Live Animal Regulations (IATA).

They were transported in a soft case baggage that "increased the risk of animals being crushed during transport, leading to injuries and death," according to court documents.

They also suffered from "poor ventilation", exacerbated by the cramped conditions.

There was an average of about 2,812 terrapins in each baggage; the sheer number of animals compounded the risks of suffocation and heat stress. According to the IATA, "one group of no more than 62 to 63 individuals must be permitted per compartment".

In fact, 95 per cent of the terrapins did not survive at the point of their seizure by NParks.

The charges

Rafique is charged with:

• One count of exporting 5,610 RES out of Singapore to India without a licence issued by the Director-General of Animal Health and Welfare, in contravention of Section 16(1) of the Animal and Birds Act 1965 (ABA), an offence punishable under section 16(3) of the ABA.
• One count of failing to take reasonable steps in ensuring that 5610 RES were not confined and conveyed that subjected them to unnecessary suffering whilst being transported from Singapore to India, in contravention of Section 41C(1)(a)(iii), an offence section 41C(2) and punishable under section 41C(3)(b)(i) of the ABA.
• One count of abetting the exportation of 5,170 RES by intentionally aiding one Ramasari Dharmarajan by packing the RES in 2 separate baggage and handing over the same to Ramasami.

Top photo from Court Documents & NParks.