30 kg pangolin scales seized, one arrested

A man was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly possessing 30 kg of scales of an endangered species of pangolin worth ₹30 lakh. The accused, identified as Ram Waghmare, 27, is a resident of Kolal village in Raigad district

Mumbai: A man was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly possessing 30 kg of scales of an endangered species of pangolin worth ₹30 lakh.

30 kg pangolin scales seized, one arrested

The accused, identified as Ram Waghmare, 27, is a resident of Kolal village in Raigad district.

Based on reliable information received by Deepak Sawant, in-charge of the unit 10 of the crime branch, that the man was bringing a load of pangolin scales, unit 10 of crime branch and Sahar police laid a trap to nab him in Marol on Tuesday afternoon. After an hour of taking positions, the police teams spotted a person that matched the description of the accused getting out of an autorickshaw with a heavy sack and arrested him, according to the FIR registered against him.

A crime branch official said, “The accused lives in the forest. When the sack was opened, we found 30 kg of brown pangolin scales.”

An official from Sahar police said that the accused was produced in the court on Wednesday morning and remanded in police custody for two days.

Scales of the Indian pangolin (manis crassicaudata) also called scaly anteater reportedly sell for over ₹1 lakh per kg in the illicit international market. Pangolin is said to be the most-trafficked animal.

“Further investigation into the case is on. We are trying to understand how this chain of illicit trade works and whom the accused was trying to sell the scales to,” he said.

The accused was handed over to the Sahar police who booked him under the relevant sections of Wildlife Protection Act.

Pangolin scales are said to be used in Chinese traditional medicines, African traditional medical practices in countries like Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone and even used as an ingredient in some recipes in China and Vietnam. In some countries, the scales are used in rituals and for making good luck charms.