DEHRADUN: In a major crackdown on wildlife trafficking, the Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) has arrested three interstate wildlife traffickers and recovered two elephant tusks weighing around 14 kg in a joint operation with the Tarai Central Forest Division and Shyampur police.
The operation, led by STF SSP Ayush Agarwal, resulted in the arrest of two traffickers, Gautam Singh and Chandan Singh, residents of Kamgarpur and Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh, from the Haridwar area on Saturday evening. One elephant tusk weighing around 7 kg was recovered from their possession.
Speaking to TNIE, SSP STF Agarwal told, "Following interrogation, another trafficker, Jitendra Singh, a resident of Naurangabad, Shyampur, was arrested late at night with the second elephant tusk. The arrested traffickers have been involved in wildlife trafficking for a long time."
STF SSP Ayush Agarwal said that the STF had received inputs about the involvement of these traffickers in wildlife trafficking in the Haridwar area for a long time. A team was secretly deployed to take action, leading to the arrests and recovery of elephant tusks.
The arrested traffickers will be booked under the Wildlife Protection Act, and further investigation will reveal details about the poaching of the elephants.