Bhubaneswar: Investigation into the seizure of five abandoned juvenile orangutans in Baleshwar district has intensified, with a team of the Special Task Force (STF) and forest officials conducting a search in Bichitrapur forest to trace the origin and trafficking network behind the animals.
A two-member STF team, comprising an ADSP and an Inspector, along with the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), reached the forest and began combing the area as part of the probe. Officials are trying to establish where the orangutans were brought from, who was involved in their transportation and whether the case has an international trafficking link.
RCCF Prakash Chandra Gogineni said that the animals were suspected to have been transported into Odisha by road from West Bengal through interior routes to evade checking on national highways. Officials are examining CCTV footage along the suspected route as part of the investigation.
“Local people cannot keep such animals here,” Gogineni said, indicating that the animals may have been brought into the region through a wider trafficking network. He said the geographical proximity of Myanmar to India’s northeastern region and the latter’s connectivity with eastern India were among the factors being examined to determine the possible route used for the smuggling.
Two teams of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), from Bhopal and Kolkata, have also joined the investigation to assist the Odisha authorities.
The orangutans, which are not native to India, were recently rescued from the Bichitrapur forest of Baleshwar district, prompting a probe into their source and possible international links. The ongoing combing operation in Bichitrapur forest is aimed at gathering further evidence and identifying those behind the trafficking network.
