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Rajkot, October 26 (IANS) Rajkot Special Operations Group (SOG) in Gujarat has busted a gang involved in illegal sale of rare pangolins worth Rs 22 crore. The gang was allegedly smuggling endangered species from the Gir forest region and attempting to sell them in major cities.
Acting on intelligence, SOG took prompt action and arrested three persons including the main accused Bijal alias Vijay Jeeva Solanki. Investigation revealed that while one of the accused believed the pangolin to be worth Rs 25 lakh, the kingpin was trying to sell it for Rs 22 crore.
Following the arrest, the accused and the rescued pangolins – protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act – were handed over to the forest department.
Officials including RFO Bibi Vala and ACF Chirag Chandgude have started interrogating the suspects to find out how many pangolins were sold earlier and at what price. The court has given four days’ remand for further investigation.
The breakthrough came after police tracked a suspicious person in Rajkot and found videos and messages related to the sale of pangolins on his mobile phone. During the investigation, the officers reached a farm near Ghantwad forest, where the accused were caught trying to trade the animal.
The operation is the state’s first major joint effort between police and forest officials to curb pangolin smuggling. Pangolins, also known as anteaters, are covered in hard scales and roll into an armored ball when threatened.
Pangolins are considered the most trafficked mammal in the world, driven primarily by demand in countries such as China and Vietnam, where their scales and body parts are misconstrued to have medicinal or rejuvenating properties. Despite being protected under international and national wildlife laws, thousands of pangolins are illegally captured from the forests of Africa and Asia each year and smuggled across borders for high-value trade.
This illegal trafficking not only threatens their survival but also disrupts the ecosystem, as pangolins play a vital role in controlling insect populations. Global conservation agencies have repeatedly raised concerns about the scale of the crisis, urging strict enforcement, cross-border monitoring and public awareness campaigns to stop illegal trade and save these unique, armour-scaled mammals from extinction.
–IANS
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