BARIPADA: In a crackdown against illegal wildlife trade, Mayurbhanj police arrested 15 persons and seized as many pangolin scales from their possession during a raid on a motorcycle showroom in Karanjia on Thursday night. The arrested accused are from Keonjhar, Jajpur, Mayurbhanj (Karanjia) in Odisha and neighbouring Jharkhand, police informed while refusing to divulge their identities.
Karanjia IIC Ranjan Sethy said the raid was conducted following a tip-off about pangolin trade in a motorcycle showroom near Karanjia bypass road. Six persons from Jharkhand came to the showroom in a car and around 10 pm, the police team raided the place where at least 15 persons were having a discussion in code words. When police searched them and their bikes, they found at least 15 pangolin scales. During the interrogation, the men admitted to dealing with middlemen of a Jharkhand-based trader, the IIC said.
Following the raid, police handed over the accused and seized items to the Forest department. Karanjia Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) Falguni Behera said a case has been registered against the 15 persons under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Further investigation is underway.