3 Bhutan nationals held with caterpillar fungi worth Rs 1 cr

Three Bhutan nationals were nabbed from India-Bhutan border town of Jaigaon in West Bengal's Alipurduar district and five kg "Keeda Jadi" or caterpillar fungus worth Rs 1 crore in the international market seized from them, a senior SSB officer said on Tuesday. "Keeda Jadi", also called "Himalayan Viagra", is a fungus that grows as a parasite on a species of caterpillar found only in certain regions of the Himalayan range.

It is worth more than gold in China for its claimed medicinal benefits such as curing cancer, slowing the aging process and working as an aphrodisiac. "Acting on a tip-off, a joint team of SSB (Sashastra Seema Bal) and forest officers of Hamiltonganj range nabbed Thimpu residents Chorten Namgyal, Dorjee Kheyang and Khombu Dorjee from Jaigaon on Monday night and seized 'Keeda Jadi' worth Rs 1 crore," SSB 53rd battalion commandant Arvind Kumar said.

Kumar said the nabbed Bhutan nationals and the seized caterpillar fungus were handed over to the forest officials.

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