An ambush team of the Special Task Force intercepted a gang at Seerangarayan Karadu in Bhavanisagar forest range in Erode district on Friday and seized two tiger skins. An expensive car and a motorcycle used to smuggle the contraband were also seized.
According to the Superintendent of Police (STF) S.V. Karuppasamy, a special team formed to conduct patrolling and ambush checks in vulnerable areas intercepted the suspects who were waiting for an agent. A search on the car revealed the tiger skin concealed in the dash board. The skin of a cub was kept in the petrol tank pouch of the motorcycle.
The accused identified as M. Nazeer Ahmed (31), A. Senthil Kumar alias Chandrasekhar (31) and A. Abbas (30) of Coimbatore were waiting for a buyer who had plans to export the skins. The trio and the seized property were handed over to the Forest Range Officer of Bhavanisagar for further investigation. Forest officials had decided to send the tiger skins to a laboratory in Hyderabad for DNA analysis, he said.
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“There is a good tiger population in the Mudumalai Hills. Following intelligence inputs of tiger and elephant poaching, Inspector General of Police (STF) C. Sylendra Babu had ordered that patrolling be intensified in the forest areas of 13 districts in the State. One of the prime objectives of the force is to conserve forest wealth along the Western Ghats by conducting combing operations at regular intervals,” Mr. Karuppasamy said.
Stating that STF personnel had sighted tigers on several occasions and some had even videographed their movement, constant interaction with village vigilance committees and others was maintained to prevent hunting. A couple of days ago, STF personnel arrested N. Rajan alias Rangasamy (43) who was wanted by the forest department in connection with several cases. A single barrel gun and ammunition was seized from his possession. He was involved in many cases, he added.