New Delhi: A freshly extracted elephant tusk was seized on Wednesday, September 10th, from a gang of poachers near Pilibhit in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The police have arrested five persons in an operation aided by the Wild Enforcement programme of the Wildlife Trust of India.The blood-stained tusk was found broken into seven pieces and together weighed 12 kilograms. The people arrested are residents of the area and have reportedly confessed to killing a tusker in a forest near the Nepal border. The search for the second tusk is on.

During the negotiations with the decoy buyer, the arrested men had also revealed the presence of more ivory with another group of poachers. This gang is yet to be traced.

In yet another incident in Pithoragarh, in the neighbouring state of Uttaranchal, near the wildlife trade sensitive Indo-Nepal border, the police authorities have seized a leopard skin yesterday. The arrested person, Nanhe Lal, belongs to the plains of the state of Uttar Pradesh and visits the Himalayas to sell pickles. On his return to the plains, he would pick-up wildlife articles for extra money.

This is the third case in a fortnight where, WTI-generated intelligence led to a seizure. Two weeks ago , the Uttaranchal police, seized skins of a snow leopard in Pithoragarh. “It is encouraging to see the growing involvement of enforcement staff after they attended workshops and seminars organized by WTI around the country, especially on the Indo-Nepal border,” Ashok Kumar, senior advisor and trustee, WTI said.