New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Tuesday nabbed four people on charges of carrying and selling two threatened rhino horns worth ₹3 crore in the global market, the crime branch said. The accused arrested, as per an official statement on Saturday, are Deepak Sharma, 57, from Lajpat Nagar, and Suresh Kumar, Sant Ram, and Anil Kumar Sethi, all from Uttam Nagar. These people were claimed to have been engaged in the prohibited business of selling horns of a white rhinoceros, a species of rhinoceros that originates from African nations and is facing extinction.
An anonymous informant tipped off the police about the illicit transaction, so the police conducted a swoop in Lajpat Nagar on January 9. As a result of its functions, constable Naveen was employed to act as a decoy buyer and an undercover policeman. After a few bargaining sessions, the suspects agreed to part with the horns for ₹ 1 crore with plans to supply them to the buyer. On this strength, the police team set out to raid a flat in Lajpat Nagar, arrest the four accused, and seize two rhino horns.
Sanjay Kumar Sain, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch), corroborated this, telling us that the suspects apprehended during the operation did not come up with any legal or even legal papers for the horns. This case of rhino horn confiscation proves that the smuggling of endangered species body parts is a present ‘endangered’ social and criminal issue.
The Crime Branch is still pursuing the case, as such cross-border black-market trades affect wildlife conservation in very many ways. The accused are expected to stand trial for this highly risky, unlawful transaction.
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