New Delhi | September 10, 2026
In a major nationwide crackdown on illegal wildlife trafficking, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has carried out six intelligence-led operations across India in just ten days, seizing live protected animals as well as leopard skins, pangolin scales and tiger bones.
According to a Press Information Bureau release issued on September 9, 13 people were arrested during operations conducted in Odisha, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh and Assam. The seizures included two leopard pelts, 180 live Indian Star Tortoises, 12 live Tokay Geckos, around 24 kg of pangolin scales and approximately 500 grams of tiger bones.
Leopard pelt seized in Odisha
On September 7, DRI officers acting on intelligence intercepted a person at Jeypore in Odisha’s Koraput district and recovered a leopard pelt.
The leopard is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, making trade, sale, purchase, possession and transportation of its skin and body parts prohibited under the law. The accused and the seized pelt were handed over to the Koraput Forest Department for further investigation and legal proceedings.
The seizure was one of two leopard-skin cases uncovered during the crackdown.
180 Indian Star Tortoises found concealed near Bengaluru
Another significant interception took place on September 7 near Gandhinagar in Bengaluru.
DRI officers examined the baggage of a person and discovered an extraordinary 180 live Indian Star Tortoises concealed inside six cloth covers.
The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau identified the animals as Indian Star Tortoises. Their striking shell patterns have made them highly sought after in the illegal exotic-pet and wildlife-collector trade, contributing to their capture and trafficking.
All 180 tortoises were seized and the accused was arrested.
The large number of live animals involved makes the seizure particularly significant from a wildlife-trafficking perspective.
Pangolin scales recovered from truck in Meghalaya
On the same day, another DRI team intercepted a Bolero truck in Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya while it was travelling towards Mawhati.
A search uncovered 14.68 kg of dried pangolin scales packed inside three carry bags.
Pangolins are among the world’s most heavily trafficked mammals. Their scales have been illegally traded particularly for use in traditional medicine in parts of Asia.
The scales, the vehicle and the apprehended person were handed over to the Range Forest Officer at Nongpoh for further action. Pangolins receive Schedule I protection under India’s Wildlife (Protection) Act and are also included in CITES Appendix I, which provides the highest level of international trade protection under the convention.
Leopard-skin network busted in Madhya Pradesh
A separate operation conducted on September 5–6 targeted what authorities described as an illegal leopard-skin trade network in Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh.
Working with the Sidhi Forest Department, DRI officers intercepted four people.
A leopard skin was initially recovered from two people travelling in a Mahindra Thar. Follow-up searches and investigation subsequently led officers to two more suspected members of the alleged network.
According to the government release, investigators also recovered evidence connected with the suspected illegal poaching, possession, transportation and proposed sale of leopard skin and parts.
The skin and vehicle were seized, while the suspects were handed over to the Forest Department for proceedings under the Wildlife (Protection) Act.
12 live Tokay Geckos rescued in Assam
Assam figured prominently in the nationwide operations.
On September 5, DRI officers acting on specific intelligence intercepted two people at Keokhali in Assam and recovered 12 live Tokay Geckos.
Tokay Geckos are trafficked both for the exotic-pet market and for purported use in traditional medicine in parts of Asia.
The geckos were seized and, along with the two people apprehended, handed over to the Range Forest Officer of Biswanath Wildlife Division for further action.
Tiger bones and pangolin scales recovered in Karbi Anglong
An earlier operation in Assam revealed another disturbing combination of trafficked wildlife derivatives.
On August 28, DRI officers intercepted three people travelling in a vehicle in Karbi Anglong district.
The search resulted in the recovery of approximately 9 kg of pangolin scales and around 500 grams of tiger bones, including a skull-and-teeth set.
The wildlife articles and vehicle were seized, while the three people were handed over to the Forest Range Officer at Bokolia for further proceedings.
Combined with the Meghalaya seizure, the operations yielded roughly 24 kg of pangolin scales.
Six operations expose many faces of wildlife trafficking
Taken together, the seizures reveal the diversity of India’s illegal wildlife trade.
Some animals—such as the 180 Star Tortoises and 12 Tokay Geckos—were being trafficked alive. Other cases involved wildlife derivatives: leopard skins, pangolin scales and tiger bones.
The operations also stretched across widely separated parts of India, from Odisha and Madhya Pradesh to Bengaluru, Meghalaya and Assam, highlighting why wildlife trafficking cannot be addressed by individual states acting in isolation.
DRI said its enforcement efforts are being carried out in coordination with state Forest Departments, the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau and other agencies.
A warning about organised wildlife crime
The recovery of several different protected species within such a short period illustrates the continuing pressure illegal trade places on India’s wildlife.
The seizures are particularly concerning because they include animals from some of the country’s most threatened and heavily trafficked groups. Pangolins are targeted for their scales, star tortoises for the exotic-pet trade, while the discovery of leopard skins and tiger bones points towards the illegal trade in body parts of India’s large carnivores.
At the same time, the six coordinated operations demonstrate the importance of intelligence sharing and cooperation between revenue intelligence, wildlife-crime investigators and state forest departments.
Thirteen arrests and substantial seizures are important enforcement successes. But tracing the supply chains behind the seized animals and wildlife products—from the people responsible for capturing or poaching them to those financing, transporting and ultimately purchasing them—will be crucial if the wider trafficking networks are to be dismantled.
Source credit: Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Finance, Government of India; release dated September 9, 2026.
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