BHUBANESWAR: IN a major success, illegal online trading of Monitor Lizard organs was busted by a joint team of Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), Crime Branch of State Police and Forest department here on Tuesday.
As many as 210 hemipenis (male sexual organs) of the Bengal and Yellow Monitor Lizards were seized by the joint squad from a house in Brahmeswarpatna area of the City. The dried hemipenis were being sold online as “hatha jodi,” described as a magical plant root that is used in tantric and other occult practices for good luck charm. The price of the wildlife articles were in the range from `400 to `14,000 apiece. The value of the total seized items could run into lakhs of rupees. Monitor lizard is a Schedule I animal and any trade involving it or its body parts is an offence under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
The WCCB, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, has been tracking online sale of illegal animal parts across the country.
On May 5, WCCB Additional Director Tilotama Varma had written to the Chief Wildlife Warden of the State about an online company from Bhubaneswar uploading pictures of the animal organs which were in their possession.
Basing on WCCB intelligence inputs, Special DG, Crime Branch, B K Sharma sent a team from the agency’s Wildlife Crime Cell, which joined hands with City Forest Division to set up a decoy squad. Posing as buyers, the squad approached one Chintan Joshi at Brahmeswarpatna who was offering the organs. A deal was struck and later a raid was conducted during which the 210 dried sexual organs were recovered.
Deputy Director of WCCB, Central Region at Jabalpur, Avijit Roychoudhury said the sexual organs have a high demand in the black market. “It is difficult on our part to find out which animal these parts belong to. We did our research and ascertained that the body parts were that of monitor lizards. We then sought assistance of Crime Branch and Forest department,” he told this paper.
After the raid, the CB’s Wildlife Crime Cell took over the case. Joshi has been detained. The CB will look to track the entire chain of trading which involves poaching and processing of the body parts of the animals.
Suvendu Mallick, honourary wildlife warden of Khurda, who assisted the operation, said it is a first of its kind racket to be busted.
“The whole trade exposes how the Schedule-I species are being hunted for illegal trade. The buyers could be from across the country,” he said. Apparently, longer the sexual organs of these species, higher is the price tag.