2 held in UP's Ayodhya for inter-state wildlife smuggling: STF

Lucknow, Sep 3 (PTI) The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) arrested two alleged members of an inter-state wildlife-trafficking gang from Ayodhya on Wednesday and seized more than a kg of pangolin skin from their possession, officials said.

The accused were identified as Shakti Kumar, a resident of Bihar's Hajipur, and Rakesh from Ayodhya district, according to a statement issued by the STF here.

The arrests were made around 1:10 pm from a guesthouse near Naka, Ayodhya, following a joint operation conducted by the STF and the forest department.

The team seized 1.35 kg of pangolin skin, along with two mobile phones, an Aadhaar card and Rs 2,000 in cash, the statement said.

Pangolin is a Schedule-I protected species under the Wildlife Protection Act.

"Acting on intelligence about an active wildlife-trafficking network, our team apprehended two persons while they were trying to sell pangolin skin. The accused confessed that they were part of an organised gang supplying wildlife products to smugglers in Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh," an STF spokesperson said.

During interrogation, the accused said they got the pangolin skin from a person in Madhya Pradesh and had a plan to deliver it to a buyer named Bunty in Ayodhya, the officials added.

A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 by the forest department in Ayodhya. Further investigation is on to trace other members of the smuggling network. PTI ABN RC