Valley
Arrests, animal part seizures in operation
CIB of Nepal Police on Tuesday said it arrested 14 people and made six cases of seizures of endangered animals and their parts over a month.The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police on Tuesday said it arrested 14 people and made six cases of seizures of endangered animals and their parts over a month.
As part of the Operation COBRA II, a global wildlife enforcement operation, the CIB had carried out a joint sting operation with national and international wildlife partners, against wildlife crimes in 14 major districts, potential wildlife trade routes in the country.
The operation was carried out in Darchula, Mahendranagar, Banke, Bardiya, Parsa, Chitwan, Nawalparasi, Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Rasuwa, Sindhupalchok, Taplejung and Jhapa districts.
In a press meet, the CIB said it recovered 34 kilograms of pangolin scales, 27 bird species belonging to Galliformes family, 64 grams of Rhino horn, one leopard skin and one and a half kg tiger bones. It also rescued one python and an adult leopard.
According to Sabin Pradhan, Deputy Superintendent of Police at the CIB and national coordinator of the Operation COBRA II, the operation was a part of the international wildlife network targeting on tracking illegal wildlife crime.
The operation focussed on endangered animal species including tiger, rhino, pangolin, big cats, great apes, Tibetan antelopes, red panda, musk deer and bear.
In order to successfully implement the operation in Nepal, one official from the CIB was sent to Bangkok, Thailand for global-level coordination in support from the South Asian Wildlife Enforcement Network while the national coordinating team formed with representation from the CIB, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, the WWF Nepal, the Department of Customs, and the Department of Forests was responsible for local-level coordination, said Pradhan.