Bhubaneswar: The Forest officials arrested two persons for alleged attempt to sell a rare chameleon in Bhubaneswar on Monday.
According to sources, acting on reliable information that two wildlife smugglers were going to strike a deal for sale of the chameleon, a joint team of Bhubaneswar forest range and Mancheswar forest range officials conducted a raid on a place near Vani Vihar in the city.
During the raid, the Forest officials arrested an old man and his grandson while trying to sell the chameleon for Rs 1.5 lakh. The arrested persons belong to Jagatsinghpur district. They have earlier records of smuggling live wild animals and wildlife products, the sources said.
The Forest officials also seized the live chameleon from their possession. The reptile is of green colour and belongs to a rare species which has a high demand in international black market, they said.
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