ATHAGARH: A team of Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) on Thursday arrived here to probe an inter-State and international pangolin racket.
The members of the team met ACF R K Das to get details of the case. As many as 10 persons have been arrested for their alleged involvement in smuggling of pangolins to international markets.
The DFO has urged the court of SDJM to bring the accused on seven days remand for further interrogation in the matter.
Athagarh forest is no longer safe for pangolins. Smuggling of the rare species to international markets came to fore after two persons were arrested by Gurudijhatia police for their involvement in the matter recently. The accused were handed over to the Forest department.
However, despite the gravity of the matter, no official from the State was assigned the task of probing it.
The scale of pangolin is used in manufacturing of bullet-proof jackets and costly medicines.