A case of smuggling of live pangolins has come to light in the Kapasi forest area of Kanker district of Chhattisgarh. The Forest Department team has arrested three people from Maharashtra in this case. The weight of the seized pangolin is about 11 kg 500 grams. Its price in the market is Rs 15 lakh. The Forest Department has also seized the motorcycle used in smuggling.
Photo : Ashok Naidu
The Forest Department official said that on the information of the informer, 3 smugglers who were smuggling pangolins in the Kapasi Forest area were caught, and live pangolins were seized from them. All the three accused Dalsu Devsai Kova, Ashok Dhasru Kotavi, Naresh Balaji Meshram Gadchiroli are residents of Maharashtra. Smugglers told that they were trying to catch pangolin and sell it. Its estimated price is around 15 lakh rupees. The medical test of the pangolin was done and then it was released into the wild.
Kapasi area of Kanker district is surrounded by dense forests and a large number of wild animals are present here. Along with this rare species of wildlife are also found here, Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra and Kanker district of Chhattisgarh is a border area, because of this the smugglers of Maharashtra keep an eye on the forests of Chhattisgarh. Information was received from the informer that some suspicious people were seen in the forests and some suspicious thing was seen in a sack near them, after which the flying squad team of the department laid siege and caught three youths riding the bike, during the search they had the sack. Pangolin of rare species was seized from.
This pangolin weighs about 11 kg 500 grams, which is estimated to cost Rs 15 lakh, during interrogation, the accused told that they were smuggling pangolin in an area of Maharashtra and the deal was done for 15 lakh, but the team of the department first As soon as the accused were caught, the forest department official told that the skin and meat of pangolin are used in making medicine and there is a lot of demand for it in China.
