Wildlife organ smuggler held with monitor lizard parts, sent to judicial remand by Haridwar court

Rishikesh: A wildlife organ smuggler was nabbed and 285 monitor lizard body parts were recovered from him, officials here said on Tuesday.

Deepak Garu was nabbed from Shahpur Nagar in Rajasthan by a Haridwar Forest Division team on August 11 following a tip-off from the Wildlife Crime Bureau, New Delhi, according to Divisional Forest Officer Vaibhav Singh.

A Haridwar court sent Garu to 14 days' judicial remand on Monday, he told PTI.

Garu is a co-accused along with Aftab alias Bhura in connection with an inter-state wildlife smuggling racket.

Bhura was arrested on August 6.

Garu's whereabouts were traced on the basis of WhatsApp chats he had with Bhura, Singh said.