DRI seizes leopard skin and head, intercepts three wildlife traffickers

DRI officials said that it was worrisome that several inter-state wildlife trafficking networks are still active, leading to a thriving demand and supply of wildlife

Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Saturday intercepted three members of an alleged wildlife trafficking syndicate and seized a leopard skin with head (in trophy form) from them in Bhopal. A ‘trophy’ is the part of a wild animal such as the head, horn, tusk or skin which is preserved through taxidermy and kept as a memento.

DRI seizes leopard skin and head, intercepts three wildlife traffickers

The operation was conducted in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, after the DRI Mumbai Zonal Unit’s Nagpur Regional Unit got a tip off about the wildlife trafficking syndicate. DRI officials then intercepted the three men at a hotel in Bhopal and recovered the leopard skin trophy from them.

The seized item and the three alleged traffickers were then handed over to the forest division in Bhopal, for facing further action under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, said DRI officials.

Leopards, also known as Panthera pardus, are listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, which grants them the highest level of legal protection in India, and possession, trade, sale or purchase of leopard skin or parts is an offence under the act. Leopards are also included under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), Appendix I, that regulates international trade of wild animals to protect them from over-exploitation.

DRI officials said that it was worrisome that several inter-state wildlife trafficking networks are still active, leading to a thriving demand and supply (of wildlife). “Relentless enforcement, especially with inter-agency and intra-agency coordination, can disrupt the supply chain while also creating a fear in the minds of the wildlife traffickers,” an official added.

“DRI is undertaking operations to protect India’s rich and diverse wildlife from poaching and illegal trade. Through close coordination with state forest departments and other enforcement agencies, the DRI continues to dismantle national and international trafficking networks through precise, intelligence-driven enforcement under the Wildlife (Protection) Act,” said a DRI official.

Other recent seizures

This operation came in the backdrop of the DRI’s sustained inter-state actions initiated this year to combat wildlife crimes and disrupt the activities of wildlife trafficking syndicates.

In May, the DRI had seized two leopard skins (in trophy form) and one ivory (wild boar tooth) in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. Similarly, in July, the DRI had intercepted six individuals who allegedly killed a tiger cub by electrocution at Seoni, Madhya Pradesh, and recovered nine tiger nails, 61 tiger bones, and the cub’s partially decomposed carcass. In August, the DRI seized two leopard skins in Rayagada, Orissa, and intercepted four people.

Earlier in January, the Mumbai Zonal Unit’s Pune Regional Unit had seized leopard skin in Maharashtra’s Akola district and intercepted three individuals involved in the case.