DRI Patna apprehends two suspects concerned in wildlife trafficking

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Patna Regional Unit, apprehended two poachers concerned in wildlife trafficking with a major seizure of endangered animal contraband on September 17, 2025.

Sources within the DRI stated that performing on actionable intelligence, DRI officers deliberate a meticulous undercover operation in Patna, focusing on a felony syndicate concerned within the poaching and illicit commerce of leopard pores and skin and “Hatha Jodi”, the reproductive organ of the protected monitor lizard.

“During the operation, two suspects Gurunam Singh and Vicky Singh, each residents of Himachal Pradesh posing as Sadhus have been intercepted and an in depth search revealed a leopard pores and skin—freshly poached, with a pure rotten odour—and Hatha Jodi. Both have been apprehended close to Baanshghat Patna,” sources stated.

According to the DRI sources, preliminary investigations point out the gang’s involvement within the poaching and trafficking of leopards and monitor lizards to varied components of the nation.

Both species fall below Schedule-I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, granting them the very best safety standing; any possession, transportation, or commerce is a severe punishable offence. These articles are additionally listed in Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES Appendix-I), making their worldwide commerce strictly forbidden.

“The seizure underscores the rising risk of unlawful wildlife trafficking and highlights DRI’s unwavering dedication to safeguarding India’s biodiversity and dismantling such felony networks in accordance with nationwide legal guidelines and worldwide obligations below CITES. Further investigation is in progress,” the sources stated.

Later DRI handed over the suspects to the Bihar forest division for additional proceedings. They have been produced earlier than the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Court, Patna earlier than being despatched to jail.