North 24-Pgns Forest Div arrests three, recovers 1450 turtles

Kolkata: The North 24-Parganas Forest Division arrested three persons on Saturday night after seizing 1450 turtles and three suspected Barking Deer skulls in two separate raids.

In a raid at Gopalnagar Police Station area, two persons were arrested along with the seizure of about 1450 turtles and one Alexandrine parrot. The turtles were packed in 64 gunny bags. The entire raid operation took about two hours.

“Based on reliable information on illegal wildlife trade, a raid was conducted by range officer Barasat and team at Maslandapur Station Road. One person was arrested and three suspected Barking Deer skulls with horns and one motorcycle in which he was carrying the articles were seized from his possession,” DFO (Divisional Forest Officer) North 24-Parganas, Raju Sarkar said. The forest division team was assisted by a team from SP Forest Protection in the district.