KATHMANDU, March 23: Police arrested a 32-year-old man on charges of possessing illegal wildlife items from Chandragiri Municipality-4, Panighat, on Saturday.
According to the spokesperson for the District Police Range (DPR), Kathmandu, Superintendent of Police (SP) Apil Raj Bohara, Subash Tamang of Shailung Rural Municipality, Dolakha, was apprehended at around 5:30 pm during a routine check by a police team from the Police Station, Thankot.
The wildlife lesson
The DPR has seized wildlife products including eight pieces of pangolin scales, a skull (believed to be a pangolin skull), claws and bones of an unidentified animal, and quills of a porcupine.
SP Bohara informed Republica that Tamang was traveling from Chitlang in Makwanpur towards Kathmandu on the Chitlang-Dhankot road section in Chandragiri, Kathmandu.
“During the search, officers found a black bag containing items that appeared to be parts of wildlife, including what looked like the skull of a wild animal,” he said.
The DPR has stated that it has handed all items over to the Division Forest Office, Kathmandu, for further investigation. Authorities are now working to determine the exact nature of the wildlife products and their legal implications.