According to sources, the Assam Rifles and Mizoram Forest Department personnel worked together to apprehend two smugglers and seize 64 kg of Indian pangolin scales, valued at Rs 64 lakh, from the state before they could be smuggled out. In Mizoram’s Champhai district, the Assam Rifles and the Forest Department retrieved the Indian pangolin’s (Manis Crassicaudata) scales and captured two people on Sunday near Crossing Point Three, Zokhawthar, according to a defense spokesman.
According to the spokesperson, paramilitary personnel and Forest Department officials staged an ambush at Zokhawthar, which is located along the India-Myanmar border, in response to particular intelligence inputs. Two people trying to smuggle the pangolin scales, which were packed in five cartons, to neighboring Myanmar were stopped by the joint team during the operation. A spot check was performed in front of two impartial witnesses and Forest Department representatives after the individuals were urged to stop.
The two people who were arrested were identified as residents of Zokhawthar, Rosiamliana, 40, and Nazarene Thanga, 31. The individuals who were arrested and the wildlife contraband that was confiscated were turned over to the Forest Department for additional investigation and legal action.
