Major tiger skin smuggling racket busted in Odisha Capital, three arrested

Bhubaneswar: In a major crackdown on illegal wildlife trade, the Special Crime Unit (SCU) of Odisha Commissionerate Police busted a well-organised inter-State racket while foiling a tiger skin smuggling deal in Bhubaneswar on Sunday. The raid was carried out behind a luxury five-star hotel in the Capital. Three persons including the mastermind have been arrested and a leopard hide seized from their possession. 

Key accused Rohit Mahapatra (26) along with his agents Sambhu Bisoi (23) and Manjeet Sabat (21) have been produced in court and brought on remand for further interrogation. 

Police informed that Rohit was executing the smuggling deals across States through agents since last eight months. His aides were given commission depending on the nature of deals finalised with various parties.

Addressing mediapersons, Police Commissioner Suresh Dev Dutta Singh, Additional Commissioner Narsingh Bhol and DCP (SCU) Anup Kanungo said Rohit had relocated from Delhi and was staying in a rented accommodation in Khandagiri since eight months. The Special Crime Unit got tip-off about his wildlife smuggling network two months back. As per the specific intelligence, Rohit used to procure tiger hide, nails, teeth and other wildlife products from various states. He used to sign deals with interested customers through Sambhu and Manjeet who were given commission money for the work. Last week, the SCU team, which was closely monitoring Rohit's activities, got tip-off that he had procured a leopard hide from Karnataka and was getting it for sale in Bhubaneswar via Rourkela. He had already finalised a deal for which his agents were being paid Rs 5 lakh commission.

Tiger skin deal was finalsed for Rs 30 lakh

"We called the key accused, posing as prospective clients but he said the deal had been finalised for Rs 30 lakh. When we offered Rs 40 lakh for the leopard hide, he agreed. Our team members disguised as buyers and approached him at the pre-decided location in a slum behind a luxury hotel. The operation was swift and he was nabbed along with his agents. They later confessed to the crime," they informed. 

The SCU team also shared that the three accused have been brought in remand to get further infrmation on the extent of the smuggling racket and other parties involved. 

"We are probing other details like source of the tiger skin, its age and the forest where the animal was hunted. The wildlife items are being sent for forensic analysis in Dehradun," they added.

Also read: Seven Arrested in Ganjam for Possessing Leopard Skin