Four arrested in Nepal in possession of leopard skins

May 2008. Four notorious wildlife traders have been arrested and six leopard skins seized in a joint operation carried out by the Police and the Wildlife Department of Nepal, based on information provided by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). The information on the traders was collected through a month-long undercover operation by WTI.

Ashok Kumar, WTI Vice Chairman, said, "Cross border wildlife trade between India and Nepal is rampant. There should be close co-operation between ground level authorities to curb that. High level workshops between officials of Nepal and India held in Kathmandu and New Delhi have not resulted in curbing the trade since the ground level co-operation is minimal. WTI and WWG will continue to work towards ensuring co-operation at this level."

The leader of the gang, Pratap Singh Thagunna has reportedly been actively involved in the cross-border trade in wildlife articles for over 15 years. Operating from Nepal, Thagunna had connections with traders in India and China, and dealt in the trade of tiger skins, leopard skins, bear bile and musk pods acquired from poachers along the Indo-Nepal border.

Ram Bahudar Dhami, owner of the skins, is an experienced hunter of leopards and other animals in the forests along the Indo-Nepal western border. He also worked as a middleman for the bear bile trade between poachers in the forests of Uttarakhand and their Chinese customers. He has also been known to purchase aged sloth bears from Kalandars (bear dancers) in India to acquire the body parts after killing the bears.

In Nepal, the punishment for trading in leopard skins is fourteen years imprisonment. The authorities are finalising the procedure and within a few days they will award the sentences to the accused. The case is being closely followed by WWG and WTI.