Chhattisgarh: Police arrest smuggler for possessing rare species of pangolin

Chhattisgarh police on June 27 reportedly arrested a smuggler from Gariyaband district for allegedly possessing a rare species of pangolin. According to ANI, the police received a tip-off that a resident of Nuapada district in Odisha was waiting for customers ti sell the Pangolin near Kulhadighat village located in Manipur Tehsil on Friday. 

The police team then reached the spot and arrested the accused of illegally possessing the pangolin. While an investigation is still underway, an FIR has been reportedly lodged under the relevant sections of the IPC. 

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Smuggling cases of pangolin 

Listed as endangered, using pangolins for commercial purposes is an unlawful act under the Wildlife Protection Act. This is not the first time that a pangolin had been tried to smuggle as last week, seven people had been arrested for the smuggling the endangered specie. As per reports, the Wildlife crime control board (WCCF) Mumbai found an advertisement about the sale of pangolins on social media after which the forest authorities sent a dummy customer and conducted a raid. 

The authorities rescued two pangolins and booked the seven arrested people under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. In another case, seven people had been arrested for allegedly killing a pangolin and then illegally selling its scales. The officials reportedly recovered 445 grams of the scales.

READ: China Removes Pangolin From Its Traditional Medicine List To Protect The Endangered Animal

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