The Kanker police team on Saturday arrested six people in Naxal affected district Kanker for allegedly trying to smuggle scales (skin) of rare wild animal pangolin.
In the raid, police recovered 53 kilograms of Pangolin skin, seized six mobile phones and cash, said Additional SP Kanker, Gorakhnath Baghel while speaking to FPJ over the phone on Saturday.
In the local black market, a Pangolin is sold at the cost of Rs 24,000. In that context 53 kgs of Pangolin skin will cost more than Rs 12 lakh, meanwhile, in the international market, it is sold at a much higher price, the officer said.
The raid was carried out in the Korar police station limits when it was confirmed that all the smugglers were moving to Kanker through Bhanupratapur, where the alleged smugglers arrived in a luxury SUV, the officer said.
The smugglers who were arrested in the raids were identified as Paritosh, Amit, Gautam, Vishwajeet, Ganesh, Sanatan. Moreover, Vishwajeet and Paritosh were identified as locals of Kanker.
Sources informed after the arrest; police sent all the accused to jail on Saturday. All the accused were arrested under the wildlife protection act.
It has been informed that the wild animal Pangolin is a very common prey to the hunters as their skin is very valuable, they are hunted down by poachers across the globe including Chhattisgarh for its skin, bones, and meat as these are in high demand in countries like China, Vietnam and African nations.
It was believed that the pangolin scales have extraordinary healing powers to treat several health conditions and spiritual issues. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) data, Pangolins account for 20% of all illegal wildlife trade.
