New Delhi:
One of the biggest illegal wildlife trade rackets busted in recent times, the CBI has arrested seven middlemen from Nagpur and Delhi with tiger skins and close to 40 kg of tiger parts worth over a crore.
The CBI also recovered leopard and other skins and red sandalwood - all valuable goods in the international market.
"We are trying to trace where these tigers were killed, on the basis of info gained through interrogation of these men. More raids are being carried out and we are also taking the help of the Wildlife Crime Control Board. These skins were being smuggled to neighbouring countries," says Harsh Bhal, Public Relations Officer, CBI.
The racket once again points to the direct supply chain between India's national parks and countries like China, where tiger skins and parts have been sold rampantly for years.
Sources in the CBI say that the wildlife trade racket has been growing exponentially every year and is a big business. What's alarming though is the increased scale of this trade at a time when India's big cats are already in deep trouble.
Just a fortnight ago, during an undercover operation in China, the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency was offered four full tiger skins, 12 leopard skins and other body parts. Despite the ban, these skins were being sold for as high as 22,000 US dollars.
"The trade is fuelled by the increased demand and the Chinese government is doing nothing to change the situation or protect the tiger," says Aniruddha Mookerjee, Senior Director, Wildlife Trust of India.
The tiger population is fast depleting in India. This year alone, more than 75 tigers have been poached and their parts sold abroad. Wildlife experts now hope India and the international community renew pressure on the Chinese to crack down on the illegal tiger trade.