Bagdogra, 21st December: Two wildlife traffickers were arrested along with an elephant tusk during a special operation conducted by forest personnel of the Ghoshpukur Range under the Kurseong Division on the Bagdogra-Siliguri stretch of Asian Highway 2.
The arrested persons have been identified as Ganesh Basfor, a resident of Nepal, and Kamal Agarwal, a resident of Siliguri.
Reportedly, acting on a tip-off, the forest team intercepted a Nepal-registered four-wheeler on the flyover of the Bagdogra-Siliguri Asian Highway. During a thorough search of the vehicle, one elephant tusk was recovered.
According to forest sources, the seized tusk measures approximately 35 centimetres in length and weighs 1 kilogram and 105 grams.
Following the recovery, both occupants of the vehicle were arrested on charges of illegal trafficking of wildlife body parts.
The accused will be produced before the Siliguri Sub-Divisional Court after preliminary interrogation.
Speaking on the matter, Assistant Divisional Forest Officer (ADFO) Rahul Dev Mukherjee said that several international wildlife trafficking networks operate through the Siliguri “chicken neck” corridor in North Bengal. Based on specific intelligence regarding the movement of wildlife body parts, a special team was formed under the leadership of the Ghoshpukur Range Officer, which successfully carried out the operation and arrested the two accused.
He added that further interrogation is underway to ascertain the involvement of other members linked to the trafficking racket.