<p>Wildlife crime investigators and police in Assam have come across evidence suggesting the smuggling of wildlife parts to China via the northeast.</p><p>This, they said, came to light during an investigation into a case related to the recovery of the skin and bones of a Royal Bengal tiger recently, which was killed in Gadchiroli in Maharashtra by poachers. The consignment was recovered by police in Azara on the outskirts of Guwahati on June 29 while they were being transported to neighbouring Meghalaya. </p><p>Four persons were arrested along with the tiger parts and the case was handed over to Wildlife Crime Control Bureau. A special task force was constituted to investigate the case and on Wednesday (August 16), two more persons were arrested from West Karbi Anglong, a hill district in Assam, which shares a boundary with Meghalaya. </p>.Maharashtra: 11 held, five minors detained in tiger poaching case in Gadchiroli.<p>A woman Rindik Teringpi and her son Bidasingh Senar were arrested from West Karbi Anglong and Shillong, respectively. </p><p>The investigation into the case revealed the involvement of transnational criminals in the smuggling of wildlife parts to markets in Southeast Asian nations, particularly China. "The consignment was supposed to be smuggled to Myanmar via the India-Myanmar border in Manipur and thereafter handed over to some other people. The ultimate destination of such items is China, where there is a huge demand for wildlife parts used in preparation of traditional medicines and some other purposes," a source in the Assam forest department said. </p><p>The northeast is increasingly being used as a transit route to smuggle wildlife parts such as tiger skin and rhino horns. </p><p>In 2021, the forest department in Gadchiroli reported the presence of tigers after nearly 30 years. Gadchiroli had nearly 100 tigers but the big cat population was almost wiped out due to the long problem of Naxalite violence and poaching. </p>
<p>Wildlife crime investigators and police in Assam have come across evidence suggesting the smuggling of wildlife parts to China via the northeast.</p><p>This, they said, came to light during an investigation into a case related to the recovery of the skin and bones of a Royal Bengal tiger recently, which was killed in Gadchiroli in Maharashtra by poachers. The consignment was recovered by police in Azara on the outskirts of Guwahati on June 29 while they were being transported to neighbouring Meghalaya. </p><p>Four persons were arrested along with the tiger parts and the case was handed over to Wildlife Crime Control Bureau. A special task force was constituted to investigate the case and on Wednesday (August 16), two more persons were arrested from West Karbi Anglong, a hill district in Assam, which shares a boundary with Meghalaya. </p>.Maharashtra: 11 held, five minors detained in tiger poaching case in Gadchiroli.<p>A woman Rindik Teringpi and her son Bidasingh Senar were arrested from West Karbi Anglong and Shillong, respectively. </p><p>The investigation into the case revealed the involvement of transnational criminals in the smuggling of wildlife parts to markets in Southeast Asian nations, particularly China. "The consignment was supposed to be smuggled to Myanmar via the India-Myanmar border in Manipur and thereafter handed over to some other people. The ultimate destination of such items is China, where there is a huge demand for wildlife parts used in preparation of traditional medicines and some other purposes," a source in the Assam forest department said. </p><p>The northeast is increasingly being used as a transit route to smuggle wildlife parts such as tiger skin and rhino horns. </p><p>In 2021, the forest department in Gadchiroli reported the presence of tigers after nearly 30 years. Gadchiroli had nearly 100 tigers but the big cat population was almost wiped out due to the long problem of Naxalite violence and poaching. </p>