Leopard skin worth ₹1cr found in ambulance, driver held

Assistant police inspector Amit Deokar had received information that wildlife articles were being transported in an ambulance that was expected to reach the area

MUMBAI: A leopard skin allegedly worth around ₹1 crore was found inside an ambulance intercepted near August Kranti Maidan in Grant Road, with the Gamdevi police arresting the vehicle’s driver. Four men who were allegedly trailing the ambulance fled when police stopped it and are being searched for.

Leopard skin worth ₹1cr found in ambulance, driver held

Assistant police inspector Amit Deokar had received information that wildlife articles were being transported in an ambulance that was expected to reach the area. A team led by Deokar, police sub-inspector Yuvraj Jagtap and other officers then laid a trap on Tejpal Road near the gate of August Kranti Maidan.

When the ambulance arrived, four men allegedly trailing it, fled after spotting the police. The driver also tried to escape but was caught.

A search of the ambulance led officers to a large white polythene bag containing a leopard skin. “It is around 90 cm from snout to tail with tail length of 65 cm and middle portion around 60 cm in width,” said the police officer.

The driver was identified as Naseer Naseem Qureshi, 27, a Prabhadevi resident.

The four men who allegedly fled have been identified as Shailesh Jadhav of Wada in Thane district, Siddhesh Rane of Khed in Ratnagiri district, Yash Kamble of Worli and Hanuman More alias Buwa of Ratnagiri.

Police said the ambulance had been gifted by a Worli-based organisation and has been seized. Investigators are now trying to trace the alleged buyer of the leopard skin and ascertain the circumstances surrounding its procurement.

The Gamdevi police have registered a case against Qureshi and the others under sections 9 (prohibition of hunting), 39 (trade or commerce in wild animals, animal articles and trophies), 48 (purchase of animals) and 49 (restrictions on transportation of wildlife) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.