Delhi Police have unearthed a wildlife smuggling racket operating in the capital, arresting two persons and rescuing three rare Indian Great Himalayan Horned Owls.
Each bird would have fetched a handsome Rs 25,000 to 30,000 in the by-lane wildlife market in the city, police said.
Acting on an information, a team of Crime Branch officials laid a trap and sent a decoy customer on Friday to set up a deal with one of the accused, Hari Babu (26), a resident of Shakarpur area of East Delhi.
Babu was apprehended as he came to a predesignated spot in that area to sell two of the owls.
He reportedly disclosed that he had caught the owls from the jungles near Badaiyun, UP, and got them to Delhi the same day.
Police said Babu further disclosed that another person Ramesh Kumar (36) had also come to Delhi with him from Badaiyun and had an owl of the same species with him.