Inter-State Smuggling Racket Busted, Hides Of 4 Big Cats Seized From Odisha’s Kalahandi

Bhawanipatna: A joint team of Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) and Odisha and Chhattisgarh forest departments busted an inter-state smuggling racket with the arrest of six persons on Saturday.

A tiger and a leopard skin were seized from M Rampur area and two leopard hides from Junagarh area in Odisha’s Kalahandi during the joint operation.

The six were apprehended while striking a deal for the sale of the skins.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) Wildlife Shashi Paul, however, said that the tiger skin appears to be suspicious as the size of the skin and nails on it are relatively small.

“We are examining it and if required will send the sample to the Centre for Wildlife Health at OUAT or forensic lab of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) at Dehradun for confirmation,” he told the TNIE.