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Assam: 7 apes, allegedly smuggled from Myanmar, rescued in Hailakandi; 2 detained
Hailakandi divisional forest officer Akhil Dutta said that the rescued animals are among the endangered species of apes and not Indian natives
Seven black primates were on Monday night rescued from smugglers in Assam’s Hailakandi district, and the police arrested two people after chasing them for over 10 km when they tried to escape.
Officer in-charge of Hailakandi’s Ramnathpur outpost, Santanu Das, said that the vehicle was coming from Mizoram.
“At around 8:30 pm on Monday, they reached our checkpost and we noticed some boxes inside the vehicle. We asked them to show the boxes but the driver tried to flee. We chased almost 10 kilometres to catch them,” he said.
Das said that both the arrested persons are drivers. A case has been registered against them and the court’s processes are underway, Das said.
Hailakandi divisional forest officer Akhil Dutta said that the rescued animals are among the endangered species of apes and not Indian natives.
“They were smuggled from Myanmar through Mizoram and the consignment was going towards Meghalaya... We are sending them to Guwahati,” he said.
Also Read:Assam: 13 smuggled primates, including guenons and macaques, rescued in Cachar
Dutta told HT that they tried to identify the animals but they were boxed in a manner that only specialists can open them.
“We can’t take the risk of opening the boxes because the apes could run away. We can’t harm them because of our curiosity. In the Guwahati Zoo, specialists will identify them,” he said.
In September this year, two baby Orangutans, suspected to be smuggled from Indonesia, were rescued in Cachar. SP Numal Mahatta said that international rackets were involved in smuggling animals and use Indian land to take these animals to international markets.
“The consignments come from countries like Indonesia and Myanmar. They use a route through Myanmar and India to take the rare species to international markets. The price of each animal goes up to ₹40 crore,” Mahatta said.
Last month, 140 smuggled animals and birds of exotic species were rescued from Mizoram’s Champhai district, along with narcotic substances. Three persons were arrested in connection with that case.
