Pangolin seized, 5 Bhutanese citizens held

Amitava Banerjee | MP | 21 November 2019 | Darjeeling: Working on a tip off the Special Task Force led by Sanjay Dutta, Ranger, Belakoba range, intercepted a vehicle and rescued a live Pangolin. 

Five Bhutanese citizens have been arrested in connection with this and a vehicle bearing Bhutanese registration number was seized. 

"Based on source information we raided an area near Nagrakata in the Jalpaiguri district. A biscuit carton containing a life Pangolin was seized from a vehicle. Five persons from Bhutan have been arrested in this case. The Pangolin was being smuggled to Bangladesh via Siliguri. They were planning to sell the Pangolin for Rs. 6 lakhs," stated Dutta. Investigations are on. 

"The five are part of an international wildlife smuggling racket. We have informed the Bhutan embassy," stated Dutta. The name of the five persons have not been disclosed owing for the sake of investigations. The five were produced at the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Jalpaiguri on Thursday. Two have been remanded to police custody and the remaining three to Judicial custody. 

"The Pangolin has been released in the Bengal Safari in Siliguri," added Dutta. 

Pangolins are popularly known as anteaters. 

They are unique mammals with their bodies covered in hard scale made of keratin. They predate on insects like ants and termites. Their scales and flesh fetch high amounts in the international markets hence they are highly vulnerable to poaching. (Source, Courtesy & Link: http://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/pangolin-seized-5-bhutanese-citizens-held-386752)