Northeastern India- Illegal Wildlife Trade Continues

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The Telegraph, Calcutta, July 02, 2005

Link:

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050702/asp/siliguri/story_4939089.asp

 

Elephant tusks, bones recovered

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Cooch Behar, July 1: Social forestry officials of the forest

department today recovered five tusks and two bones of elephants from

Balakuthi Jorai bus stand in Baxirhat police station area, near the

Bengal-Assam border.

 

The four-member team of social forestry officials, however, could not

arrest anyone. A gang of smugglers was transporting the haul to

Bhutan from Assam, via Siliguri, a source said. Each of the tusks

weighed 2.265 kg. The length of two tusks was 1.9 ft and 1.6 ft, two

others were 7 inches each and another 6 inches. The bones weighed 950

gram.

 

Divisional forest officer Pinaki Mitra said acting on a tip-off, a

four-member team, led by beat officer Tarun Kumar Saha, raided the

Jorai bus stand. When they started checking the bags of passengers,

the person carrying it fled, leaving the bag behind. " We are sure

that the haul was being smuggled from Assam. I have talked to chief

conservator of forests, northern circle, P.T. Bhutia, " he said