BHUBANESWAR: In a major crackdown against illegal trading of wildlife items, officials of Khurda forest division seized 282 pangolin scales weighing around 4 kg from Baideswar area of the district and arrested two persons.
The accused, belonging to Nayagarh, were caught red-handed by forest staff on Tuesday night, November 16, 2021, and are being interrogated, said Khurda DFO Poornima P. Acting on an intelligence input that some persons were trying to sell pangolin scales in Baideshwar, Assistant Conservators of Forest (ACFs) of Khurda division Arabinda Mohanty, Gobinda Biswal and Asit Kumar Mishra disguised themselves as buyers and approached the accused.
The duo brought the pangolin scales in a cement bag. The team nabbed one of the smugglers at the spot, while the other tried to escape. He was later overpowered with the help of locals. This is one of the major seizures of pangolin scales in Odisha so far this year.