Counter Wildlife Trafficking Newsletter
July 2021
Wildlife Trade Trivia
Illegal Wildlife Trade in July 2021
News Scan (July 1 -31)
Two smugglers arrested in Dibrugarh, rhino horn, tusk & heroin recovered | 1 July 2021
The police arrested two smugglers from the Panchali area in Assam’s Dibrugarh town and seized one suspected rhino horn, an elephant tusk, and 19 grams of heroin from their possession.
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Two held with 4.1 kg of ambergris | 3 July 2021
The Mumbai Police Crime Branch has arrested two persons with 4.1 kg of ambergris or whale vomit. This is the third such incident in the last two weeks. Under the Wildlife Protection Act, it is illegal to buy or sell ambergris.
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Smuggler held with leopard claws, teeth | 3 July 2021
The forest department, along with the wildlife crime control bureau (WCCB), arrested one person for illegally smuggling and selling a bag of leopard claws and teeth at Delhi’s Kashmere interstate bus terminus (ISBT).
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Duo held with 10 Blackbuck horns | 4 July 2021
The Pimpri Chinchwad police arrested a duo for attempting to sell five sets of Indian antelope (Blackbuck) horns on Chakan-Shikrapur Road.
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Three arrested for killing hog deer at Goriakhona | 4 July 2021
Three persons were arrested for killing a hog deer at Goriakhona under Dhemaji Forest Division. The three, hailing from Pitu Sapori, killed the hog deer and ate its meat. A case has been registered against the trio under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
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Poacher held; wild boar meat seized in Jajpur | 5 July 2021
Forest officials in Jajpur arrested a poacher and seized 65 kilograms of wild boar meat, four traps, two bows, and arrows from his possession.
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Three held with 17 crude bombs meant to poach wild boars in Coimbatore | 5 July 2021
Forest department officers arrested three people with 17 avuttukkai (country bombs) at Thenkaral Karadu on the city’s outskirts.
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Two Kaziranga Forest Personnel Arrested for Illegal Possession of Rhino Horn | 5 July 2021
Two forest personnel of Assam's Kaziranga National Park have been arrested after a broken piece of rhino horn was allegedly recovered from their ownership. An authority said that it had not been confirmed if the two have any if with poachers.
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Three held with contraband in Nagaland | 5 July 2021
The security forces arrested three individuals and retrieved contraband. The teaks retrieved were handed over to Forest Department, Dimapur District.
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Gun enthusiast turned poacher, three others arrested for hunting wild boar | 6 July 2021
The forest department arrested four men, including a national shooter aspirant-turned poacher, for poaching a wild boar at Marudhamalai beat in the Coimbatore forest range.
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Two held with 1,200 kg sea cucumber in TN's Mandapam | 6 July 2021
In a joint operation with the Forest Department, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) station, Mandapam arrested two persons and seized about 1,200 kilograms of sea cucumber from their possession.
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‘Protected’ bird rescued from dad and son in North 24-Parganas | 7 July 2021
An Oriental Pied Hornbill was rescued from Barasat in North 24-Parganas. A team of officers from the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) got in touch with a father-son duo who were allegedly trying to sell the bird and arrested them.
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Man held for possession of wild animal's meat | 7 July 2021
The forest department officials of the Subrahmanya range detained a man and seized meat from a wild animal at his house in Bilinele village.
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Four arrested for trying to sell pangolin | 9 July 2021
Chhattisgarh Police arrested four persons in Mahasamund district for trying to sell a pangolin.
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19 kg ambergris seized in Kerala, three held | 10 July 2021
The Kerala forest department seized 19 kg of ambergris, popularly known as whale vomit, from Chettuva in Thrissur district and arrested three persons.
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Tusker electrocuted by wire trap in Bantala forest range, one arrested | 10 July 2021
A 15-year-old tusker died due to electrocution near Talagada village under the Bantala forest range of the Angul division. Forest officials arrested one Joginath Pradhan in this connection and produced him in court.
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Six poachers arrested In Deogarh; explosives, firearm & venison seized | 10 July 2021
The forest department personnel have arrested six poachers in two separate cases in Reamal and Barkote forest ranges in the Deogarh forest division and forwarded them to court.
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Pangolin scales, claws seized; Hornbill rescued in Bengal in back-to-back raids | 10 July 2021
While carrying out raids on wildlife smugglers, the detective department of the Kolkata Police and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) of the Union ministry of environment, forest, and climate change seized more than three kilograms of pangolin scales and 38 pangolin claws from central Kolkata.
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A snake’s charm | 10 July 2021
The Red Sand Boa snake is a smuggler’s favourite as it is believed to bring good luck to those who worship it; the Peenya police and wildlife volunteers arrested two in Bengaluru for trying to sell the snake.
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Boat with 500 kg sea cucumber heading towards Rameswaram intercepted, one held | 11 July 2021
The Mandapam Forest Department of Tamil Nadu's Ramanathapuram district intercepted a country boat heading towards Rameswaram with 500 kg of sea cucumber mid-sea.
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Uncovering the web of illegal wildlife traders operating on social media | 11 July 2021
During a joint operation when several law enforcement agencies in India together raided a house in the north-eastern state of Meghalaya, they knew exactly what they would find. Four live pangolins, over 44 kg of pangolin scales, 43 dead tokay geckos and two elephant tusks.
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T.N. man held, red sanders logs seized | 12 July 2021
The Andhra Pradesh State Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force (APSRSASTF) personnel arrested a red sanders smuggling operative from Tamil Nadu and seized several logs at the Devagudi forest location Nagapatla beat under Tirupati wildlife circle.
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Elephant tusks seized in Lakhimpur, three detained | 12 July 2021
A police team led by the sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Dhakuakhana, Soumar Jyoti Bhuyan, seized two elephant tusks from a house in Bahir Kapsan village in Lakhimpur district.
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Dudhwa officials recover canines of tiger poached in 2007, two arrested | 12 July 2021
Fourteen years after a tiger was killed in Dudhwa forest by a gang of poachers, two of its members were arrested and two canines of the slain big cat were seized from them.
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Sperm whale vomit seized, five arrested | 12 July 2021
In two separate raids, the Thane forest division arrested five people from Mumbai for dealing in 27 kgs of ambergris in the market.
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28-year-old man, trying to sell seven baby crocodiles, arrested in Maharashtra's Thane | 12 July 2021
Seven baby crocodiles were rescued from the possession of a 28-year-old man who was trying to sell them at Mumbra in the Thane district of Maharashtra.
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Jaipur Customs seize body parts of wild birds | 13 July 2021
The Customs authorities at Foreign Post Office Jaipur has intercepted two parcels that contain feathers and head of wild birds.
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One held on poaching charge; four on the run | 13 July 2021
One person has been taken into custody in connection with the poaching of gaur at Anpathiyettam mile forest under the Tholpetty range in the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.
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Three held for hunting peahen in Valsad reserve forest area | 14 July 2021
Three men, including a father-son duo, were arrested for hunting a peahen from the reserve forest area in Dharampur taluka in Valsad district.
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Rare yellow turtle spotted in Odisha, rescued and released into river | 14 July 2021
A rare yellow coloured turtle was spotted and rescued in Odisha's Bhadrak district. A local school teacher in Chandbali block of Bhadrak district rescued the unique yellow colour turtle weighing about 2 kg.
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National green court asks Punjab Chief Wildlife Warden to investigate mysterious parrot deaths in Faridkot | 14 July 2021
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Punjab Chief Wildlife Warden to investigate and take action into the strange case of hundreds of parrots dying around jamun and other fruit trees of Faridkot town in Punjab in the months of June and July — a phenomenon that has been persistent for the last five years.
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NE insurgent groups involved in rhino poaching, illegal trade, one NSCN militant held | 14 July 2021
Some militant groups in the North-Eastern region have links with rhino poaching and illegal rhino horn trades.
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Sand boa snake rescued from Pathankot man in Chandigarh | 15 July 2021
A brown sand boa snake was rescued from a Pathankot man who was trying to sell it in the city.
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Leopard caught in barbed wire dies near Ooty | 16 July 2021
A male sub-adult leopard, which got trapped in a snare placed in a barbed wire fence at Yellanhalli near Ooty, died soon after it was rescued. Locals, who found the leopard caught in the fence on a farmland at Jothi Nagar, had informed the forest department.
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Three poachers held, live pangolin rescued | 17 July 2021
A combined team of Crime Branch, WCCB and Forest Department nabbed three poachers and rescued a live pangolin from them in Manegaon square.
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Forest officials raid shops, seize star tortoise, softshell turtles | 18 July 2021
The Forest officials raided eight shops under the Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation (GWMC) and seized three soft-shell turtles and one star tortoise. They also arrested four persons (shopkeepers) in connection with the sale of turtles and produced them before a court.
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Four held in Andhra for smuggling endangered sand boa snakes | 18 July 2021
Andhra Pradesh's Guntur Forest Division in coordination with Wildlife Crime Control Bureau detained four people accused of smuggling Red Sand Boa snakes, an endangered species.
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Pangolin scales seized in Bokajan, two detained | 18 July 2021
Based on some reliable intelligence input a joint search and raid operation has been conducted by Wildlife Crime Control Bureau Govt of India, Guwahati, Assam Police Bokajan area.
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Officials raid shops in Warangal, find 3 soft-shell turtles & one star tortoise | 19 July 2021
The Warangal (Urban) Forest Department officials raided several shops in the city limits that were allegedly selling star tortoises and soft-shell turtles.
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Seven years punishment for international smuggler Murugesan and 12 other gang members | 19 July 2021
The Special Court, Sagar pronounced international smuggler of critically endangered species of turtles, and his gang, maximum punishment under provisions of Wildlife Protection Act 1972, as per an official statement from MP Forest Department.
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Vehicle with illicit timber seized in north Kashmir, two arrested | 20 July 2021
Police in the Kralgund area of North Kashmir's Kupwara arrested two timber smugglers and seized illicit timber along with a vehicle.
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Three poachers held for killing barking deer in Odisha | 21 July 2021
The Odisha forest department personnel arrested three persons for allegedly killing a barking deer in Similipal National Park in Mayurbhanj district.
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Odisha STF seizes leopard hide in Boudh district, poacher arrested | 21 July 2021
The Special Task Force (STF) of the Crime Branch arrested a poacher and seized a leopard hide and one single barrel muzzle loading (SBML) gun from his possession.
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15 turtles rescued by Sarugara Range in Siliguri | 21 July 2021
The forest workers of the Sarugara range of Baikunthapur division, based on a tip-off, searched a bus in Matigara under the leadership of Range Officer Sanjay Dutta.
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Wildlife contrabands, leopard hides recovered in Mandi | 22 July 2021
The Shimla police have recovered three leopard hides and arrested one person in Mandi town. Police have registered a case under smuggling and the Wildlife Act. Besides skin, police have also seized wildlife contrabands including 14 leopard claws and 12 leopard teeth.
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Forester injured while arresting two with country guns in Dharmapuri district | 22 July 2021
Two persons were arrested with country guns intended for poaching in Morappur. A forester, along with an accused, was injured during the arrest, after one of the country guns went off.
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Elephant killed in shootout between guards & smugglers | 22 July 2021
An elephant was killed in a crossfire between forest guards and timber smugglers at Joypur wildlife range in Dihing Patkai National Park in upper Assam's Dibrugarh district.
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Man, family booked for ‘demanding tortoise with 21 toenails, black Labrador as dowry | 22 July 2021
An FIR was registered against an Aurangabad man and his family for demanding a tortoise with 21 toenails and a black Labrador as dowry. The family has been booked for cheating and criminal breach of trust.
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Man held for poaching seahorses, sea cucumbers | 22 July 2021
Forest officials have arrested a 36-year-old man on the charge of poaching seahorses and sea cucumbers at Palakkudi fish landing point in Manamelkudi taluk in the district.
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Electric snare claims another elephant in Odisha | 24 July 2021
Another elephant was killed on Friday in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district after coming in contact with live electric wire. Since April alone, five elephants have been killed by electrocution.
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Man posts message about selling leopard cub on FB, arrested | 25 July 2021
The state Forest Department has arrested a man from Karad in Satara district for allegedly posting a message on Facebook about a leopard cub being available for sale. The accused, Rushikesh Ingle alias Lalya, had urged anyone interested in buying the cub to call him.
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Pangolin scale smuggling racket busted, two arrested In Dhenkanal | 25 July 2021
Forest officials have seized 14.2 kilograms of Pangolin scales which was being smuggled out of the State.
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Red sanders smuggler arrested; logs recovered in Prakasam | 27 July 2021
The Martur police of the Prakasam district arrested a man for smuggling the red sanders logs at the Bollapalli toll plaza and recovered 24 logs along with the vehicle and a mobile phone.
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DEWS joint patrolling squad recovers second hidden gun of 3 arrested hunters | 27 July 2021
The joint patrolling squad of Borguli, Sibiyamukh and Anchalghat Wildlife Range of D. Ering Wildlife Sanctuary (DEWS) here have recovered second SBBL gun hidden by three recently arrested hunters from southernmost part of Borguli Wildlife Range opposite road damage portion along Mebo-Dhola road in the north of Namsing village.
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Peacock smuggling racket busted in Odisha | 27 July 2021
A peacock smuggling racket has been busted near Kutra police station in Sundargarh district of Odisha. Reports said that some employees of forest department have joined hands with the smugglers.
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Tiger skin seized in Telangana, two smugglers held | 29 July 2021
Police on Thursday said they have seized a tiger skin in Mulugu District of Telangana after nabbing from there two wildlife smugglers, one of them belonging to the State of Chhattisgarh.
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Infographics: Jessica Luis, Nikita Mohan and Aristo Mendis