Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Crime Branch Special Task Force has made further progress in the investigation following the rescue of five infant orangutans from a forest in Bhograi area of Balasore district, with intelligence pointing to an organised wildlife trafficking network that includes a Bihar-based operator allegedly involved in the illicit deal and movement of the animals.
According to sources, the STF teams, working with local police, have launched raids across Bihar in an effort to detain the prime suspects, though several key members of the suspected smuggling ring are reported to have gone into hiding.
Officials believe the operation forms part of a wider interstate network, with West Bengal serving as a possible transit corridor for international trafficking. Probes and intelligence-sharing continue with authorities in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and other neighbouring states, while investigators are also examining historical records of exotic animal trafficking cases to map the syndicate’s methods.
Incidentally, a significant lead emerged when CCTV footage captured a black Mahindra Thar in the vicinity; the vehicle was traced to a local hotel operator whose premises have since been sealed. The hotel owner and associates remain absconding, and authorities suspect CCTV logs at the property were deliberately deleted to erase links to the traffickers. Family members and associates of the suspect have been summoned for questioning, sources further stated.
Meanwhile, the investigation has been complicated by overlapping mobile networks along the Odisha-West Bengal border. Towers in the region frequently switch between state networks, making analysis of tower-dump data difficult and hindering efforts to identify suspicious numbers active around the early hours of September 8, when the animals are believed to have been abandoned. Investigators are simultaneously reviewing extensive CCTV footage, vehicle movement records and other digital evidence to reconstruct the route used to transport the critically endangered primates before they were left in Bichitrapur forest.
The five orangutans, three males and two females, are currently at Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar, where a dedicated veterinary team is providing continuous monitoring and specialised care. Three of the infants have been diagnosed with anaemia, a condition consistent with early separation from their mothers and hand-rearing; iron supplements have been administered to raise haemoglobin levels.
Forest Minister Ganesh Ram Singhkhuntia has expressed confidence that the probe will identify those responsible for the international wildlife smuggling racket and bring them to justice.
