Counter Wildlife Trafficking Newsletter
Illegal Wildlife Trade in August 2021
In Focus
To commemorate World Photography Day on 19 August 2021, our Counter Wildlife Trafficking Programme held its Annual Photography Contest for all their trainee officers. Officers from different enforcement agencies across the country sent us their photographs.
We had four categories to choose from based on the pictures received. They are Best Wildlife Photograph 2021, Best Mobile-Camera Wildlife Photograph, Perfect Timing Photograph, and Best Wildlife Macro Photograph.
News Scan (August 1 -31)
Forest Sleuths Foil Pangolin Smuggling Bid In Koraput | 1 August 2021
A pangolin belonging to a rare breed was rescued by Forest department personnel near Bania bridge while it was being smuggled by a poacher.
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330 Assam roofed turtles seized, two held | 1 August 2021
Forest department’s vigilance and anti-poaching officials caught an inter-state gang involved in illegal trade of Assam roofed turtles in Ramanthapur.
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Chittoor police seize red sandalwood logs four smugglers held | 2 August 2021
Chittoor police have seized a huge red sandalwood dump in Chennai city and arrested four interstate red sandalwood smugglers after seizing three vehicles and red sandalwood logs.
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The death of three peacocks in a suspicious manner; poisoned and killed | 2 August 2021
Three peacocks have died in a suspicious manner at a small village of Gandasi village in Arasikere taluk in Hassan district, and the fear of poisoning and killing peacocks has emerged.
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STF recovers 3 kg pangolin scales, three nabbed in Balasore | 2 August 2021
The Special Task Force (STF) of the Crime Branch busted a pangolin scale smuggling racket with the arrest of three persons in the Balasore district.
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Four arrested for bid to sell tiger skin | 2 August 2021
A team from the Local Crime Branch of Pune City Police received a tip that some people were coming to Pune-Satara Road area at Sarola Bridge. Based on the information, a trap was laid and four persons were detained.
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Three poachers arrested in Betul for killing tiger; four claws, hide seized | 2 August 2021
hree members of a gang of poachers were arrested from Madhya Pradesh's Betul and Chhindwara districts on charges of killing a tiger about three years ago and four claws and a hide of the wild animal were seized from them.
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Monkey deaths in Karnataka: Police arrest five including couple hired to capture them | 2 August 2021
In a joint operation, officials of the forest department and police have arrested five people including two monkey capturers in connection with the death of 30 bonnet macaques in Belur taluk.
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Three poachers held with two palm civet cat carcasses in Dudhwa | 2 August 2021
Three poachers were arrested while trying to sneak out of the Mailani range of Dudhwa Tiger reserve with two carcasses of palm civet cats they had allegedly killed. They were planning to sell the civet skins.
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Six poachers arrested for killing deer in Telangana's Mancherial district | 3 August 2021
In a major hunt, the Forest Department officials busted a six-member poachers’ gang and recovered a bike and a knife from their possession. According to officials, they allegedly killed a sambar deer in Rally Ghadpur forest near Morrigudem village under Luxettipet range in Mancherial district recently.
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Over five kilo Chinese Pangolin scale recovered; One nabbed | 4 August 2021
Around five kilos of dry Chinese pangolin scale were seized and a person was apprehended in a joint operation conducted by Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB,) Guwahati and Lumding forest range at Lumding market area near Lumding College.
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CCB bust inter-State Red Sanders racket | 5 August 2021
Central Crime Branch (CCB) busted an inter-State Red Sanders smuggling racket and arrested two persons who were allegedly caught red-handed while they were trying to sell the timber to their clients.
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Two poachers arrested with eight Indian roofed turtles | 5 August 2021
Shamli police claimed to have arrested two alleged poachers with eight Indian-roofed turtles. Police sources said Mohd Rashid and Mohd Shakir, both residents of Saharanpur, used to catch turtles in the Ganga river and would sell them in Delhi at higher prices. The accused were booked under the Wildlife Protection Act.
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Four Delhi men going to Mumbai with Red Sand Boa snake held in Kheri | 6 August 2021
Four men from Delhi who were trying to smuggle a Red Sand Boa snake were arrested by UP police near Dudhwa forests in Isanagar area of UP’s Lakhimpur Kheri district.
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Gang selling whale vomit worth Rs 8 crore caught in Karnataka's Kushalnagar | 8 August 2021
In probably a first-of-its-kind case in the state, a gang that was trying to sell Ambergris, commonly known as whale vomit was detained near Kushalnagar.
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Two held with elephant tusks | 8 August 2021
The Ghatkopar police of Mumbai Police’s Zone 7 have arrested two men on the charges of smuggling two elephant tusks. The accused have been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Wildlife Protection Act.
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Gujarat Forest dept recovers 14 star tortoises from a house in Vadodara | 9 August 2021
Gujarat Forest dept recovers 14 star tortoises from a house in Vadodara. The baby tortoises were kept in cages, which is against Wild Life Protection Act.
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80 kg of banned marine substance Ambergris seized in Bengaluru | 10 August 2021
Bengaluru's Central Crime Branch (CCB) police seized a whopping 80 kg banned marine substance Ambergris worth about Rs 80 crore from five persons.
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Forest Department seizes illegally kept parakeets from two homes following PETA India’s complaint | 10 August 2021
Acting on a tip from a concerned citizen and a complaint filed by PETA India, the West Bengal Forest Department seized four parakeets from two families in Salt Lake, Kolkata, who were keeping them in custody illegally.
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Techie’s collection of animal pelts, tusks seized | 10 August 2021
Officials of the forest mobile squad and the city police raided the house of a software engineer in J.P. Nagar and recovered a huge collection of animal pelts and ornamental articles made from bones and skin of wildlife and marine life.
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Illegal ivory commerce kingpin arrested in Kotagiri | 11 August 2021
A kingpin of unlawful ivory commerce was arrested at Kothagiri within the Nilgiris in a joint operation by Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) and the Forest Department.
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Two including Kaziranga National Park employee arrested in rhino horn smuggling case | 11 August 2021
Two more persons, including an employee of Kaziranga National Park (KNP), have been arrested by the DFO of the East Wildlife Division, Ramesh Kumar Gogoi for their alleged involvement in rhino horn smuggling in the national park.
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2 poachers apprehended near India-Bhutan border with elephant tusk | 11 August 2021
Two suspected poachers were apprehended with a tusk from near the India-Bhutan border in Assam's Baksa district.
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ED books sea cucumber smuggling racket kingpin in Tamil Nadu | 13 August 2021
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a money laundering case against an alleged smuggling kingpin of endangered sea cucumbers in Tamil Nadu's Rameswaram, the agency said.
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Huge haul of red sanders in Kadapa | 13 August 2021
The Kadapa district police seized a huge quantity of red sanders in two different operations across the district.
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Three caught with red panda hides | 13 August 2021
Police have arrested three people in possession of two red panda hides from Baral Hotel, Restaurant and Lodge in Banganga Municipality-9 in Kapilvastu.
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Ivory smuggling racket busted in Deogarh, two held | 14 August 2021
Deogarh Forest range officials busted an ivory smuggling racket at Sado village under the Tileibani block of the district with the arrest of two persons.
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Anantapur Police seizes sandalwood | 14 August 2021
Anantapur district police wing seized sandalwood, which was illegally smuggled and stacked at a private oil industry near Basavanapalli village in Amarapuram mandal in Andhra Pradesh.
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The arrest of forest staff in red sanders’ smuggling creates flutter | 15 August 2021
The arrest of four forest department personnel, including a driver, two-beat officers and an outsourcing worker, by the Valmikipuram police, on charges of conniving with the red sanders smuggling network has created a flutter in the police and forest department circles.
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Poached parakeets, star tortoises rescued | 17 August 2021
Wildlife officials in Tamil Nadu seized poached ivory, star tortoise, parakeet and sea cucumbers in the past two weeks and this trend of wildlife poaching has disturbed the top officials, forcing them to intensify surveillance on wildlife crime control.
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75 Rose-ringed parakeets rescued | 17 August 2021
District Forest Department personnel rescued 75 rose-ringed parakeets, caged by a woman for sale near the New Bus Stand in Salem.
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Two held in Mysuru with ambergris | 17 August 2021
The Karnataka Police have arrested two persons and seized 2.2 kg ambergris in Mysuru.
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Tiger skin seized in Nabrangpur, probe underway | 18 August 2021
A tiger skin was seized by the Nabranhgpur forest officials’ special team in the Raighar forest range.
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2,247 endangered Indian star tortoises seized at Chennai airport as smuggling bid is foiled | 19 August 2021
Over 2,000 Indian star tortoises being smuggled to Thailand were seized by the Chennai airport customs authorities.
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Crackdown on tiger, leopard body parts traders; two held | 19 August 2021
In a joint action, the Melghat Tiger Reserve Cyber Cell and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), Mumbai, nabbed two persons and seized 11 tiger as well as leopard nails from them.
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Police arrest a poacher with dead Chinkara | 19 August 2021
Police arrested a poacher carrying a dead Chinkara deer in a sack in Hastinapur area of the district. Additional Superintendent of Police, Gwalior Jairaj Kuber said, he had a tip from sources that poachers were carrying Chinkara on their motorcycle.
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Middleman held with leopard nails and claw in Odisha | 20 August 2021
Forest officials of the Hirakud Wildlife Division arrested a man for his involvement in the illegal wildlife trade. Four nails and claws of a leopard, skin and hair of wild dog besides ornament made of pangolin scales were seized from his possession.
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Man plants bomb near Erode's Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve to poach animals, arrested | 22 August 2021
A 51-year-old man was arrested for killing a cow, which accidentally bit an avuttukkai (country-made bomb) that he had planted on the land abutting the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve to poach wild boars.
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Four arrested for trying to sell 'whale vomit' near Chennai | 22 August 2021
Forest Department officials and police arrested four people after receiving a tip-off about a gang from Kerala attempting to sell Ambergris, or whale vomit, in Mangadu near Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
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Kurnool police seize red sander logs | 23 August 2021
The Taluka police seized 177 red sander logs during a vehicle check conducted at Nannur Toll Plaza.
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Sandalwood smuggler killed as Karnataka forest officials open fire | 23 August 2021
The incident was reported from Kenkere forest in Huliyurudurga forest range in Kunigal taluk as Forest Department officials surrounded the three smugglers and asked them to surrender.
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Smuggling of 4000 cubic fit timber foiled, 5 apprehended in Nagaland | 23 August 2021
Based on an intelligence input, Assam Rifels apprehended five individuals and foiled timber smuggling at Jharnapani village in Dimapur district of Nagaland.
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Wildlife Smugglers Arrested, Made Public | 24 August 2021
The Chitwan National Park (CNP) has made public various persons involved in the smuggling of rhino horn. They were held in connection with the investigation on the rhino killed at Mardikhola area of Bandharjhula Post.
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One held with tiger skin, nails in Odisha | 24 August 2021
Forest officials detained a person over the possession of tiger skin and nails in Odisha's Kalahandi district.
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Task Force arrests two smugglers, seizes red sanders logs | 25 August 2021
The Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force (RSASTF) arrested two men and seized 42 logs of red sanders wood from their possession from two different places in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district.
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Coral, conch smuggling racket busted | 26 August 2021
A racket of smuggling corals and conch shells was busted from Mithapur town of Devbhumi Dwarka by the local forest officials. They seized 218kg of conch shells and 122 pieces of sea fans (a type of coral) that are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act.
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WCCB and Bengal CID bust wildlife illegal trade racket; 658 live parakeets found | 26 August 2021
Officers from the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau(WCCB) and West Bengal Crime Investigation Department (CID) arrested four people and seized from their possession approximately 658 live parakeets from Kolkata.
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Pangolin, tiger poachers nabbed from Deolapar & Paoni | 26 August 2021
In a major crackdown against two gangs of wildlife criminals, the Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh forest departments, along with Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), nabbed pangolin, tiger and herbivore poachers from Paoni and Deolapar.
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Four timber smugglers arrested in Tinsukia, sawn timber-laden vehicle seized | 26 August 2021
At least four timber smugglers were arrested along with an illegal consignment of sawn timber, which was being carried in a vehicle by a team of forest personnel in Tinsukia district.
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Forest Department gets antler from excise office | 26 August 2021
The forest department recovered a deer antler from the excise office at Kacheripady here. The 36-cm-long antler was seized during a raid on an apartment in Kochi from where over 1 kg of MDMA was seized.
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Navy arrests suspect with over 9100 kg illegally stored sea cucumber in Mannar | 27 August 2021
A special operation conducted by the Navy in Irukkulampiddi, Mannar, led to the seizure of about 9170 kg of sea cucumber, stored in violation of license condition, and apprehension of a suspect in connection to the incident.
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Kadapa police arrest 13 red sanders smugglers, seize 22 red sanders logs | 27 August 2021
Kadapa district police wing which conducted raids at multiple locations across the district arrested 13 red sanders smugglers and seized 22 red sanders logs.
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Gang of six from Pune arrested by Forest dept for smuggling Ambergris | 29 August 2021
The Pune unit of the state Forest Department arrested a gang of six persons for allegedly smuggling Ambergris, which is popularly known as ‘whale vomit’.
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3.5 kg more tiger bones seized, fifth poaching accused surrenders | 30 August 2021
Deolapar tiger poaching case has turned murkier after Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR), Maharashtra, officials seized another 3.5 kg bones. The seizure not only exposes wider links to the poaching racket, but also raises a question mark over tiger protection in territorial forest areas in the region.
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Female Swamp deer found dead at Kaziranga | 30 August 2021
A Female Swamp deer was found dead in park boundary No.1 Sildubi gaon by the official of the forest department.
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16 more tiger bones, whiskers seized near Kanhargaon; three held | 31 August 2021
In a major breakthrough in the tiger poaching case, Butibori forest officials arrested three more persons from Pachgaon, bordering Kanhargaon Wildlife Sanctuary in Central Chanda division.
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Infographics: Nikita Mohan and Aristo Mendis