Ahmedabad Flat Raid Exposes Illegal Parrots and Exotic Animal Breeding Racket

A red-handed tamarin infant, six African grey parrots and a trove of other exotic animals were recovered from a residential flat at Ravalbhai Apartment in Navrangpura during a raid that police describe as exposing a large-scale illegal breeding and sales racket. Authorities recovered exact counts that include seven Persian cats and kittens, 14 hamsters, 15 Mini Lop rabbits, nine dwarf rabbits, five blue-and-gold macaws, three eclectus parrots, four sun conures, two galah cockatoos, and one sulphur-crested cockatoo, plus a large number of lovebirds, cockatiels, budgerigars and finches.

Investigators from the Ahmedabad City Crime Branch, also referred to in some reports as the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB), carried out the operation after receiving specific information and a tip-off that led officers to the Navrangpura flat. Most reports list the raid on 1 March 2026, though at least one account described it as having been conducted on Saturday night; police materials should be checked to resolve the timing discrepancy. ANI published a visual of the seized animals as part of the official release.

The Crime Branch labelled the operation “a large-scale, illegal, and highly hazardous breeding and sales racket of rare exotic animals and birds.” Officers said documents produced by the accused on the government PARIVESH portal were examined at the scene and found wanting. “The documents shown to us on the PARIVESH portal appear incomplete and raise doubts,” a senior Crime Branch official told investigators handling the case.

An accused person is under detention and being questioned; most investigative outlets report the name is being withheld while one local account identified the detained man as 41-year-old Manikanandan K Nadar and said the operation had run for six to seven months. Neighbour accounts recorded during the inquiry said the accused had previously claimed to possess a temporary permit from a forest department officer in Gandhinagar; authorities say they found no valid permissions for commercial breeding, no regular health certifications and no scientific housing infrastructure in the flat.

One detailed account of the probe says it began with a tip about snake venom allegedly being supplied at rave parties, a lead that investigators followed and say revealed a much broader network. That same account alleges animals were being sold for between Rs 50,000 and Rs 5 lakh and that buyers included affluent clients with farmhouses around Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar; those sales figures and client details remain unverified by police seizure records.

Public-health and wildlife experts interviewed by reporters warned of the risks posed by the cramped housing and lack of biosecurity. “Keeping such a large number of wild and exotic species in a congested residential area without proper biosecurity measures can pose a serious risk of zoonotic diseases, which can spread from animals to humans and may prove fatal,” experts told reporters in Ahmedabad.

Police say the probe has been widened to cover health and wildlife violations and the detained person is being questioned as enquiries continue. Investigators are expected to verify PARIVESH entries, obtain veterinary assessments of the seized animals and consult forest and wildlife authorities to determine legal and quarantine steps going forward.