Malkangiri: There is no let-up in the smuggling of the scaly ant-eating pangolins. Malkangiri forest division officials seized a pangolin and detained eight persons Tuesday.
The forest officials refused to speak as investigation is underway, but assured to brief the media on the issue Wednesday.
Reliable sources said five of the detainees are Bengalis while the rest are tribals. The animal weighed six kg.
Earlier, forest officials had seized a pangolin which was being trafficked outside, and arrested seven persons December 10.
Taking cognizance of media reports, a Central Crime Branch team visited Malkangiri January 7, and conducted a probe into the incident.
The team later visited Rayagada and took the accused persons lodged at the Rayagada jail for pangolin smuggling on remand and interrogated them.
Earlier, arrests were made in Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj for pangolin smuggling.
Pangolin is a Schedule I animal and is one of the most trafficked animals in the world. Pangolin scales are sold for Rs 12,000 in Odisha, but its value in international markets is much more.
The pangolin trade from Odisha goes through West Bengal, Mizoram and Assam, and ends in Myanmar, China and Thailand. A pangolin fetches Rs 10 to Rs 15 lakh in the international market.
While the Chinese pangolin, mostly found in northeast India, has been listed as ‘critically endangered’ by the UN affiliated International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List, the Indian pangolin has been listed as ‘endangered’.
The animal’s scales are made of keratin, the same material that constitutes human fingernails and hair, and actually have no medicinal value. Pangolin meat is considered a delicacy in some countries, and its scales are used as jewellery and rituals.
PNN