Guwahati, June 18: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized two leopard skins and 20 leopard bones weighing 2.58 kilograms during an anti-wildlife trafficking operation conducted on June 16 near Titajuri Village on the outskirts of Nagaon, Assam. The seizure was made after intercepting two suspects on a highway based on specific intelligence inputs.
During the operation, one suspect managed to escape into a nearby forest while the other was apprehended. The seized wildlife parts and the arrested individual have been handed over to the Kathiatoli Forest Range for further investigation and legal action.
Leopard (Panthera pardus) is a species protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which affords the highest level of legal protection. The animal is also listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which prohibits commercial trade of its body parts.
This operation is part of a broader effort by DRI and Customs to combat illegal wildlife trade in the northeastern region. Since January 2025, authorities have seized one tiger skin, tiger bones weighing 14 kilograms, two elephant tusks, three kilograms of ambergris (sperm whale vomit), four leopard skins, two otter skins, one bear head skin, two kilograms of pangolin scales, and eight kilograms of leopard bones.
All the seized species and body parts are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, making their hunting, possession, and trade illegal. Enforcement agencies continue to intensify their crackdown on poaching and trafficking of endangered species.
