Wild life: Police bust pangolin smuggling racket, arrest 2 in Odisha
New Delhi: Odisha Police busted a pangolin smuggling racket and arrested 2 people from the Balasore district on Monday.
The Special Task Force of the Crime Branch and Balasore Forest Division officials arrested the duo from Batapada Natapada, Balasore. The policemen disguised as customers to nab them.
Police also confiscated 3 kg of pangolin scales. The seizure came a week after the confiscation of 14.2 kg scales from the Dhenkanal district by a joint team of the Forest Department and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) of Jabalpur.
Deputy Police Inspector General of Special Task Force Jay Narayan Pankaj said the STF has arrested 29 wildlife criminals since 2020 under a drive against such offenses. The wildlife trophies seized during the operation included 15 leopard skins, 9 elephant tusks, 2 deer skins, 3 live pangolins, and 13 kg of pangolin scales.
“Widespread smuggling of pangolins was reported near forests of Athgarh, Cuttack, and Mayurbhanj district earlier,” he added.
Pangolin is a threatened species, protected as a Schedule-1 animal under the Wildlife Protection Act of India.
(Avya Mathur)
