Court denies bail to interstate wildlife trade gang members

Nagpur, February 9, 2010: The Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Nagpur, yesterday denied bail to the eight persons arrested in November last year for illegal trade in wildlife articles including tiger skins and bones.

The accused were apprehended in a joint operation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) – Delhi branch and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB). This operation, authorities assert, had busted an entire module of the interstate wildlife trade gang of which the accused were members.

“Two tiger skins, tiger bones, leopard skins, otter skins and a small piece of red sandalwood were confiscated from the accused,” said Ramesh Pandey, WCCB. “The seizures were an outcome of a collaborative longdrawn and systematic efforts of the two agencies. The arrests were made simultaneously in Maharashtra and Delhi, leading to the busting of the entire syndicate including poachers, negotiators, carriers etc. Investigations are under way to identify further linkages within the country and to confirm the destination where the seized items were headed to,” added Pandey.

The operation involved a series of well-planned and efficiently-executed raids in Maharashtra and Delhi.  The first arrest was made on November 5. Five of the accused travelling from Balarsha railway station in Chandrapur district, Maharashtra to New Delhi were intercepted with illegal wildlife parts including a tiger skin and tiger bones in their possession.

In the wee hours the next day, the kingpin – a Tibetan named Tashi Tenzin alias Tashi Tsering alias Babu - was nabbed along with an accomplice in Majnu-ka-Tila in Delhi. More wildlife articles were recovered from their possession. Subsequently, one more person was arrested.

“The operation was a very impressive work by the two agencies,” said Ashok Kumar, Vice-chairman, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). Following the arrest, WTI had engaged Prashant Sathianathan, lawyer, to assist the CBI prosecutor Rajen Dahiya who opposed the bail of the accused.  “For now, all the accused remain in custody. They may now approach a higher court. We will do our best to ensure that they are not granted bail and are punished appropriately,” Kumar added.