DRI intercepts two wildlife traffickers, seizes leopard skin and ivory

Two people accused of illegal trade of wildlife articles were apprehended on Sunday by the Mumbai unit of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence. Two leopard skins with heads and a boar’s horn (known as ‘ivory’) were seized in the operation.

According to DRI sources, the operation began based on a tip-off received by Mumbai unit’s Nagpur team about a few traders allegedly attempting to sell wildlife articles like leopard skins and boar’s horn. DRI sources said that acting on the information, the Nagpur DRI team started tracking the suspects’ activities and eventually, the two accused were apprehended at a hotel in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.

The accused are now in custody of the District Forest Division, Ujjain, for further investigation under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the sources said. The seized wildlife articles were handed over by DRI to the District Forest Division.

Leopards are listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, as per which, sale, purchase, or possession of leopard skin or any part of the animal is prohibited.

Earlier in January, DRI’s Nagpur team had seized leopard skin in Maharashtra’s Akola district and had intercepted three individuals in connection with the case. In April last year, the DRI had intercepted a wildlife trafficking gang in Nashik, seizing 781 Bengal Monitor Lizard Hemipenes and 19.6 kilogram of soft corals.

“The successful operations conducted by the DRI reaffirms its enduring commitment to safeguarding India’s wildlife by targeting illegal trade and trafficking of endangered species within the country and across borders,” a DRI source said.