New Delhi, March 9 The Madhya Pradesh State Tiger Strike Force, in coordination with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, has arrested Tarak Nath Ghosh, the kingpin of a reptile smuggling racket from Kanpur, officials said on Monday.
The accused, who was wanted in three cases of transnational illegal trade in turtles and gharials registered in Madhya Pradesh, had been on the run for eight years.
Arrest warrants had been issued against him by three different courts.
"Ghosh's syndicate operates across several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and West Bengal. He is also suspected to have a network outside India, including in Bangladesh, Thailand, Myanmar, and Singapore," an official statement by the Ministry of Environment said.
The accused will be produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh, on Monday.
"Police or forest custody will be sought to obtain further information and intelligence about his alleged network," the statement said.