Four persons were arrested and a pangolin was rescued from their possession on Saturday evening by a team of Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCF) in Dudhnoi, Goalpara.
The arrested persons have been identified as Banikanta Rabha, Nazrul Islam, Inamul Hoque and Alad Hussain.
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They were arrested from a roadside Dhaba near a railway over-bridge in Dudhnoi town and were landed handed over to the forest department.
Officials informed that the kingpin of the gang, identified as Lengra Garo, managed to escape.
Garo, a resident of Krishnai, had brought the pangolin from Meghalaya to Assam.
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“Garo has asked me to carry the bag to the Dhaba. I did not know the bag had a pangolin inside,” said Banikanta Rabha- from whose possession the endangered animal was recovered.
Commenting on the incident ranger of Rongjuli forest range Balen Das said, “A WCCF team was keeping strict watch in areas near the Assam-Meghalaya border for mitigating wildlife smuggling.”
Das further reported that the arrested persons will be produced before the court on Monday.