Pangolin scale racket busted in Odisha, 3 held

Nuapada: Forest Department officials and Nuapada police have busted a pangolin scale smuggling racket and arrested as many as three persons in this connection.

The arrested have been identified as Premananda Behera of Bargarh, Harekrushna Pradhan of Bargarh and Bharat Das of Nuapada.

According to police sources, the accused were detained three days ago for questioning, during which it came to fore that the trio was involved in smuggling pangolin scale from Odisha to other states. On being informed by police, the Forest Department officials probed into the matter and arrested the three under the Wildlife Protection Act.

An SUV was seized from their possession. They were produced before a local court today and remanded to judicial custody due to rejection of their bail pleas.