Mahendranagar (Nepal): Four notorious wildlife traders were arrested last week from the East-West Highway near Mahendranagar, a city within the western boundary of Nepal, in a joint operation, carried out by the Police and the Wildlife Department of Nepal, based on the information provided by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). Six leopard skins were seized from the accused who are currently under custody.
The information on the traders was collected through a month-long undercover operation by WTI using two local persons as field operatives. After fixing a date with the traders on the pretext of purchasing wildlife articles, an official from WTI reached Nepal as a decoy customer.
Mangal Man Shakya, Chairman, Wildlife Watch Group (WWG), an NGO based in Kathmandu, provided the ground support. With his help and that of the police and wildlife officials, the operation was completed within a day.
Ashok Kumar, Vice Chairman, WTI said, “Cross border wildlife trade between India and Nepal is rampant. There should be close co-operation between ground level authorities to curb that. High level workshops between officials of Nepal and India held in Kathmandu and New Delhi have not resulted in curbing the trade since the ground level co-operation is minimal. WTI and WWG will continue to work towards ensuring co-operation at this level.”
The leader of the gang, Pratap Singh Thagunna has reportedly been actively involved in the cross-border trade in wildlife articles for over 15 years. Operating from Nepal, Thagunna had connections with traders in India and China, and dealt in the trade of tiger skins, leopard skins, bear bile and musk pods acquired from poachers along the Indo-Nepal border.
Ram Bahudar Dhami, the owner of the seized skins, apart from being involved in wildlife trade, was also an experienced hunter targeting leopards and other animals in the forests along the Indo-Nepal western border. He also worked as a middleman for the bear bile trade between poachers in the forests of Uttarakhand and their Chinese customers. He has also been known to purchase aged sloth bears from Kalandars (bear dancers) in India for as low as 20,000 Indian Rupees, to acquire the body parts after killing the bears.
Brothers, Ramdhin Rana and Dhirendra Rana were carriers. They stored the materials in their house, located near the highway and helped the traders in transporting them to the customers.
In Nepal, the punishment for trading in leopard skins is fourteen years imprisonment. The authorities are finalising the procedure and within a few days they will award the sentences to the accused. The case is being closely followed by WWG and WTI.
Bear cub seizure in Siraha
Only a few weeks before, a bear cub was seized in Siraha, a district in southeast Nepal along the Indian border. WTI through its undercover operation had provided the information on the accused, Sanul Mia, who is absconding. The cub is currently housed in the Kathmandu Zoo.
