Jeypore: Forest staff of Jeypore division in Koraput district rescued a live pangolin on Sunday.
Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF), Jeypore Division, Prabhudatta Himanshu Mishra said, a special team of forest staff, on the directive of the Jeypore DFO, raided an area in Kotpad and rescued the pangolin. However, the smuggler managed to escape.
The raid was carried out on a tip-off from Warteam, a Jeypore-based NGO, about a deal being made to sell the rare species.
Stating that the rescued pangolin, weighing 4.6 kg, has been brought to Jeypore, the ACF informed media that as per preliminary investigation one Vishal Kumar of the neighbouring state was striking a deal to sell the pangolin at Rs 5 lakh. Efforts are on to arrest him at the earliest, he added.
