DRI’s Mumbai unit seizes two leopard skins in inter-state operation, four apprehended

A DRI team in Odisha kept a watch for the suspects and eventually intercepted two of them near the Rayagada railway station

MUMBAI: The Mumbai zonal unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized two leopard skins and apprehended four suspected members of a wildlife trafficking network as part of an inter-state operation conducted in Odisha, in coordination with the Mumbai Customs Department, on Saturday.

(Shutterstock)

One of the four apprehended suspects was the alleged mastermind of the wildlife trafficking network, agency sources said. Leopards are listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, as per which, sale, purchase, or possession of leopard skin or any part of the animal is prohibited.

The operation against the trafficking network was initiated based on specific intelligence about a suspect’s location in Rayagada district, Odisha, who was illegally in possession of leopard skins and attempting to sell them in contravention of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, the sources said. The DRI then launched the operation with the assistance of the Mumbai Customs (Preventive), the sources said.

A DRI team in Odisha kept a watch for the suspects and eventually intercepted two of them near the Rayagada railway station. Upon sustained questioning by the DRI team, the two suspects revealed the whereabouts of the mastermind of the trafficking network, the sources said.

In a follow-up operation, DRI officers intercepted two other suspects, including the alleged mastermind, in an adjacent village located about 10 kilometres off Rayagada, from where they recovered two leopard skins. In all, four individuals were apprehended in the operation, the sources said.

Other recent seizures

Earlier, in May, in a separate operation, two accused of illegal trade of wildlife articles were apprehended by the Mumbai unit of DRI. The agency seized two leopard skins with heads and a boar’s horn (known as ‘ivory’). According to DRI, the operation began based on a tip-off about a few traders allegedly attempting to sell wildlife articles like leopard skins and boar horns. Acting on the information, the DRI team started tracking the suspects’ activities and eventually, the two accused were apprehended at a hotel in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. The accused were later handed over to the District Forest Division, Ujjain, for further investigation under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Earlier in January, DRI’s Nagpur team had seized leopard skin in Maharashtra’s Akola district and intercepted three individuals in connection with the case.