Two held with leopard skin as DRI cracks inter-state wildlife trafficking network

The DRI’s Mumbai zonal unit intercepted the two accused near Purada village on Tuesday and recovered the leopard skin from their possession, officials said on Thursday. The seizure was made under the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

MUMBAI: The skin of a leopard destined for the illegal wildlife trade has led to the arrest of two members of an inter-state trafficking syndicate, with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) recovering the protected animal’s hide during an intelligence-led operation in Gondia district.

Two held with leopard skin as DRI cracks inter-state wildlife trafficking network

The DRI’s Mumbai zonal unit intercepted the two accused near Purada village on Tuesday and recovered the leopard skin from their possession, officials said on Thursday. The seizure was made under the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Leopards (Panthera pardus) are accorded the highest level of protection under Schedule I of the Act, which prohibits the trade, sale, purchase, possession and transportation of their skins and other body parts.

A leopard skin has previously been reported to command around ₹5 lakh and goes up to ₹1 crore in India’s illegal trade, depending on its condition and demand. The hides are sought as luxury décor, wall hangings and carpets, while leopard body parts have also been documented in illegal traditional-medicine markets in Asia.

The seizure is the latest in a series of wildlife-trafficking cases involving leopard skins in the region. In January 2025, the DRI seized a leopard skin from three people in Akola, Maharashtra. In May 2025, its Nagpur unit recovered two leopard skins in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, and arrested two people.

Leopard skins have historically accounted for the overwhelming majority of reported seizures of leopard body parts in India. A TRAFFIC study found that nearly 90% of reported leopard-part seizures over the decade it examined involved skins, with investigations also pointing to international trafficking routes from India into neighbouring countries and onward to Asian markets.

Amphetamine worth ₹1.05 crore seized from Rajdhani passenger

In a separate operation, the DRI’s Nagpur regional unit arrested a woman and seized 1.312 kg of amphetamine worth around ₹1.05 crore in the illicit market from her luggage aboard the Hazrat Nizamuddin-KSR Bengaluru Rajdhani Express, officials said.

Acting on specific intelligence, DRI officers intercepted the woman when the train passed through Nagpur railway station on Sunday. The officers boarded the train and searched her luggage, finding a specially fabricated concealed compartment inside her suitcase.

The compartment, made of hard cardboard, contained two packets wrapped in blue carbon paper. A field drug-testing kit confirmed the substance in the packets as amphetamine, a psychotropic substance regulated under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

The woman was arrested under the NDPS Act and produced before the Holiday Court in Nagpur on the same day, officials said. The DRI is investigating the source of the drug and its intended destination.