DRI has made eight arrests, including a police officer from Jammu and Kashmir, along with four leopard skins

Teams from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in Goa and Mumbai have made eight arrests, one of whom was a currently working policeman with the Jammu and Kashmir Police, and retrieved leopard skins from their possession.

After gathering particular intelligence over a period of time, the DRI stated that it initiated an operation with the teams after it found out that a few gangs in Srinagar (J&K) were engaged in the illegal wildlife trade and were looking for potential purchasers for the selling of leopard skins. The DRI said that this information led to the beginning of the operation.

 

As a consequence of this, a comprehensive strategy to capture the members of the gangs was developed.

 

“Pretending to be customers, officials from the Goa Regional Unit of the Mumbai Zonal Unit traveled to Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir. Following a number of iterations of bargaining, the dealers transported the first leopard skin to a location in Srinagar close to Dalgate that had been arranged in advance. Near the location that was specified, officers who were conducting surveillance came across a person who was carrying the leopard skin. Another conspirator was apprehended on the basis of the information provided by him when he was in a public location in Srinagar, the official said.

 

The officer proceeded by saying that once they had secured the first capture, they resumed the rounds of hard talks with another group of vendors. After a long night of haggling, the dealers eventually agreed to transport three leopard skins to a place that had been determined in advance.

 

“Three individuals who were in possession of illegal goods (three leopard skins) were apprehended. According to the leads that were created by the information that was acquired from them, three other individuals involved to the transaction were waiting nearby at a public spot.

 

“Right once, two teams of cops were deployed, and as soon as they arrived in the public spot, they detained three individuals. According to the statement made by the DRI, “a total of eight individuals involved in this illegal trading of wildlife were intercepted, including one serving police constable. Additionally, a total of four skins of Leopards (Panthera pardus) were recovered.”

 

According to the official, the preliminary inquiry indicated that the leopards were taken from Ladakh, Doda, and Uri.

 

In accordance with the provisions of subsection (c) of section 50 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, the four leopard skins in question were taken into custody.

 

After the first seizure procedures under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, the contraband and the eight individuals who committed the offense under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 were turned over to the officers of the Department of WildLife Protection, Jammu and Kashmir.