Chennai : Customs authorities at the Chennai International Airport here thwarted two attempts to smuggle wild animals from Thailand in two days, an official said.

Acting on specific inputs, the authorities on Sunday intercepted a passenger, who arrived here from Bangkok, and recovered an albino porcupine and a white lipped red chested tamarin (monkey) from his baggage, according to a press release from the customs department.

In another incident on Monday, the authorities rescued a leucistic sugar glider that was concealed in a container, which was placed inside the baggage of a passenger, also from Bangkok.

In both cases, the passengers informed the authorities that some unknown people had given them the bags asking them to hand them to a person who would be waiting outside the airport.

On the advice of Animal Quarantine officials, the animals were sent back to Thailand, the press release said.