On Friday, five suspected smugglers were apprehended by the rangers and officials of the Manas National Park with rhino horns, elephant tusks, and tiger bones. Rajen Choudhury, field director of the Park, told reporter that they detained the individuals and registered a case against them under the Wildlife Protection Act.
Choudhary revealed that during their interrogation, the accused confessed to killing two rhinos in the National Park this year. It was further stated that the smugglers are all from the surrounding areas and it is believed that they have killed several animals over the past few months in order to sell the rhino horn. The last few months have seen a large number of seized animal parts in different operations across the state.
In the second week of August, four suspected poachers were arrested near the India-Bhutan border. On August 17, Assam Police’s Special Task Force (STF) and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) apprehended a mother-son duo of suspected traffickers of wildlife creatures from Assam and Meghalaya. In April this year, three suspected poachers were arrested in Assam’s Barpeta with tiger skins and bones worth Rs.20 lakhs. It is believed that they had killed the tiger in Manas Tiger Reserve and were trying to sell it to smugglers in another state.
