The Assam police’s special task force (STF) in collaboration with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) arrested five poachers and smugglers of wild animal body parts from Assam’s Nagaon district.
According to the police, the STF and WCCB team also seized a large amount of body parts of animals like one-horn rhino, tiger, elephants and others from the arrested persons.
STF officials on Wednesday told the media that based on specific information, they planned a joint operation with WCCB on Tuesday and conducted a raid at Kaliabor area in Nagaon district.
During the joint operation 12 elephant tusks, 2 tiger canine teeth, 15 rhino hooves, 1 deer antler, 1.031 kg pangolin scale were recovered. The special team also seized five mobile phones used for networking and police said these phones will help them in further investigation.
The arrested poachers and smugglers have been identified as Gafar Quresy (24), Mohammad Okil Quresy (60), Mohammad Safiqul Islam (39), Ujjal Bharali (20) and Aditya Sarma (23).
Gafar, Okil and Safiqul are residents of Jakhalabandha area of Nagaon district while Ujjal and Aditya are residents of Guwahati, police said.
{{/usCountry}}Gafar, Okil and Safiqul are residents of Jakhalabandha area of Nagaon district while Ujjal and Aditya are residents of Guwahati, police said.
{{/usCountry}}STF handed them to the Jakhalabandha Police Station along with the recovered items. According to the police, a case has been registered against them under sections 9, 39, 44, 48(A), 49(B), 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
“They have been arrested under several sections of the Wildlife Protection Act and our special team is interrogating them. They’ll be produced before the court soon,” an official of Jakhalabandha Police Station said.
Police said that this was one of the biggest seizures in Assam this month and with the arrests, more information about poaching and smuggling of wildlife animals will be collected.
This was also the fourth recovery of smuggled animal body parts including elephant tusks in Assam in the last ten days. The Government Railway Police (GRP) on Tuesday seized elephant tusk weighing 2.3 kilograms from Lachit Express train at Assam’s Kamakhya Railway Station in Guwahati.
On August 18, Forest officials in Morigaon recovered elephant tusk weighing 2.5 kg from a residence. The owner of the house was arrested under the Wildlife Protection Act for allegedly being involved in smuggling of wildlife animal body parts.
On August 13, WCCB and STF arrested three suspected poachers from Chirang district near Bhutan border and recovered a large amount of elephant tusks.
The recovery of body parts of wildlife animals in frequent manner has raised concern over the safety of those species. A senior official of Assam police has claimed that they are conducting more operations now and as a result, the recoveries are happening.