Balasore: In a significant breakthrough against wildlife crime, Forest Department officials have arrested six more persons, including a government school teacher, for their alleged involvement in an illegal wildlife trafficking racket operating in and around the Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary in Balasore district.
During the operation, forest personnel seized 13 pangolin scales, eight mobile phones and three motorcycles from the accused. All six have been produced before a local court, officials said.
The arrests are the result of sustained follow-up investigations into a poaching case that came to light last month. On January 22, a forest team led by Kuldiha Range Officer Subrat Behera had busted a poaching gang during a raid in the area. Based on leads obtained during interrogation and subsequent intelligence inputs, forest officials intensified surveillance and conducted a series of targeted raids, culminating in the latest arrests.
With the apprehension of the six accused on Wednesday, the total number of arrests in the case has risen to 11 in the past two weeks, all linked to the same wildlife trafficking network, according to the Forest Department.
Officials said the involvement of a government assistant teacher among the accused has raised serious concerns, underscoring how individuals from diverse professional backgrounds are increasingly being drawn into organised wildlife crimes for monetary gain.
Pangolins, which are among the most trafficked mammals globally, are protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and any trade in their body parts is a punishable offence.
Forest authorities stated that investigations are ongoing to identify forward and backward linkages of the racket and to trace potential buyers operating outside the region. They reiterated that intensive anti-poaching and surveillance operations would continue in the Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary and its fringe areas to curb illegal hunting and wildlife trafficking.
