Wildlife smuggling racket busted in Odisha's Jajpur

A wildlife smuggling racket was busted in Odishas Jajpur district on Wednesday and two persons were arrested in this connection, a forest official said. However, two others involved in the racket managed to escape during the raid, the official said.The arrested persons are suspected to be the mastermind of the racket.

A wildlife smuggling racket was busted in Odishas Jajpur district on Wednesday and two persons were arrested in this connection, a forest official said. Acting on a tip-off, a team of forest officials from Jajpur Road conducted a raid in Bhikipur reserve forest area and caught the miscreants, he said.

Five antlers, a tusk and a rare chameleon, worth several lakhs, were recovered from their possession. However, two others involved in the racket managed to escape during the raid, the official said.

''The arrested persons are suspected to be the mastermind of the racket. Efforts are on to trace the others involved in the criminal activity and ascertain as to how the animals were killed,'' said Debendra Patnaik, Ranger of Jajpur. Both the persons were planning to strike a deal with prospective buyers to sell the wildlife products, he said.

They have been booked under various sections of the Wildlife Protection Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the official said..