3 held in Assam for smuggling 11 Tokay Geckos worth ₹60 lakh each
The three suspected smugglers were allegedly smuggling the endangered Tokay Gecko lizards from Arunachal Pradesh to Assam
Silchar: Three men were arrested in Assam’s Dibrugarh district on Thursday for allegedly smuggling 11 endangered Tokay Gecko lizards, officials said. The Assam Police’s Special Task Force (STF) rescued the Schedule-I protected species during the operation.
The lizards were likely being sold for ₹60 lakh each or even at higher prices in the international markets. “The price goes higher in some countries and as per reports, these lizards are used for some weird medicinal purposes,” a senior Assam Police officer said.
The three suspected smugglers were spotted in a Dhaba in Mohanbari Tiniali of Dibrugarh. “Two of them came in the car while the third person came in a motorcycle. It is suspected that they were making some deal there but we managed to catch them before this,” STF inspector Kamalesh Singh said.
Acting on a tip-off that suspected some endangered species are being smuggled from Arunachal Pradesh to Assam, inspector Singh said, “The STF team led by DSP Satyendra Singh Hazari conducted a special operation in different areas and managed to catch the vehicle carrying the endangered species.”
The three arrested men were identified as Debashis Dohutia (34) and Manash Dohutia (28), both residents of Tinsukia district; and Dipankar Gharphalia (40) from Dibrugarh.
A team of Wildlife Justice Commission, South Asia Office examined them in the presence of the STF and confirmed that 11 Tokay Gecko lizards were in the red coloured backpack bags that were seized from the car,” an official said.
Spot interrogation revealed that they were finalising a deal to sell lizards for one lakh rupees each, the official added.
It is suspected that the rescued lizards are Tokay Gecko, however, the specialists of Zoological Department are examining it further, divisional forest officer (DFO) of Dibrugarh BV Sandeep said.
“As per the initial findings, these are scheduled-1 endangered species under Wildlife Protection Protection 1972. Once the identification is completed, we’ll release them to their natural habitats. Since these are live species, we follow this process,” he said on Saturday.
According to the experts, these Tokay Gecko lizards are found in a few areas in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. These are one of the highest protected species and killing or harming them are punishable offences which can lead to upto a seven year imprisonment.
