Wildlife trafficking busted in Odisha; pangolin rescued, two held

Nabarangpur: Forest officials rescued an Indian Pangolin (bajrakapta) and arrested two traffickers during a raid at Maidalpur here in the district on Tuesday.

The accused persons were identified as Raisingh Jani (40) and Bhim Jani (35), the residents of Kantasaru village of Maidalpur panchayat in Nabarangpur district.

A team of officials under Nabarangpur forest division busted the wildlife trafficking while the accused persons were making deal with two wildlife mafias from Chhattisgarh to sell the endangered animal pangolin at price of Rs 5 lakh yesterday.

According to reports, Raisingh and Bhim Jani had captured a pangolin weighs around 13 kg from Dangariguda forest. They later contacted two wildlife mafias for sale.

Acting on a tip-off about pangolin racket, a team of forest officials reached Kantasaru village where the deal was underway for sale of the animal. They raided the house and rescued the pangolin. While Raisingh and Bhim were nabbed, two mafias managed to flee from the area.