Malad man arrested in Thane for selling animal skins worth 2 crore

THANE: The Anti-Extortion Cell arrested a 37-year-old Malad resident reportedly for smuggling the skins of leopard, tiger, crocodile along with a pair of elephant ivory tusk collectively valued over Rs 2 crore in the international market.
Samir Jadhav, who is a driver by profession is involved in poaching and selling the skin and other wildlife treasures for a small fortune, said DCP (crime) Deepak Deoraj.
It is learnt that senior inspector Pradeep Sharma was tipped-off about the animal skin trading and that Jadhav would be carrying the prohibited material to strike a deal near the Balkum-Majiwada area.
"We had the description of the man and our teams had spread out in the Balkum-Majiwada road keeping a tight vigil. Upon spotting the suspect, our men intercepted him and questioned him about the contents of his bag. He was evasive and when we carried out the search we recovered the skins of leopard, tiger, crocodile and the elephant ivory tusk," said Deoraj.
The police also alerted the officials of the forest department to ascertain the authenticity of the skin who subsequently confirmed that all of them were originals. "The three skins-Leopard, Tiger and Crocodile-seems to be in the age group below three years and they might have been hunted a couple of years back according to the preliminary examination of the skin suggest," said a police officer.
The officer suspect that there seems to be a well-oiled cartel of the syndicate operating in selling of the skins in and around Mumbai and the parts of Thane district. "It may be used as antique piece collection as well as could be used in show-piece or decorative items, medicinal purpose etc," The accused seems to be involved in the business for a long time now as the preliminary examination of cell phone by the sleuths revealed that he has many photographs of animal skin as well as old antique items as well as peddling the dead animal skins and even the alive animals, said a police officer.
The officer added, "It is still to be probed as who is operating the gang and to whom the skins were going to be sold." An offence is registered against him with the Kapurbawdi police under sections 9,39,44,48(A),49,49(A) and 51 of the Wild life Protection Act 1972.
Upon spotting the suspect, our men intercepted him and questioned him about the contents of his bag. He was evasive and when we carried out the search we recovered the skins of leopard, tiger, crocodile and the elephant ivory tusk,
Upon spotting the suspect, our men intercepted him and questioned him about the contents of his bag. He was evasive and when we carried out the search we recovered the skins of leopard, tiger, crocodile and the elephant ivory tusk,