Three convicted of wildlife crimes in India

10/12/2006 00:00:00 November 12: Two Tibetans and one Nepali have been convicted in a case involving a landmark seizure of a huge number of leopard and otter skins in Delhi. The trio were arrested in April 2005 with 45 leopard and 15 otter skins. They are the first Tibetans in Exile to be convicted of a wildlife crime in India.

The Delhi police, working on information provided by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), started watching the Tibetan Camp at Majnu Ka Tilla in old Delhi and were able to apprehend the trio red-handed.

Coincidentally, this happened on the very day His Holiness the Dalai Lama launched the anti-wildlife trade campaign of the Care for the Wild International and WTI with the statement that 'the law of the land has to prevail'.

During the investigation the accused had disclosed that they were working for a person called Tchhwang Tashi Tsering, a notorious wildlife trader from Nepal. He paid them 1,000 Rps. each to store the skins and transport them to Nepal. This seizure is one of the largest in recent past hopefully will go a long way in dissuading trafficking in illegal wildlife articles.

Mr Kumar, Vice-Chairman of the Wildlife Trust of India, said ‘This seizure is one of the largest in recent past and the conviction would go a long way in dissuading foreigners from trafficking in illegal wildlife articles.’