Mingmar Tamang, 27, of Goaljung-4 in Rasuwa district, and Kavod Gurung, 18, of Marfa-2 in Mustang district, were arrested in a ´Buy and Bust´ operation by the Metropolitan Police Circle Maharajgunj. [break]
They allegedly possessed a rhino horn weighing 1.27 kilogram costing Rs 3.5 million and 396 grams of bear gall bladders worth Rs 720,000 in black market.
National Park and Wild Life Department verified the rhino horn as genuine and the authenticity of the bear gall bladders was yet to be verified at the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Deepak Thapa said.
“We believe we could bust the trafficking ring given the progress in the ongoing investigation,” said Thapa, adding, “Those arrested seem to be peddlers.”
Rihno horn and bear gall bladder are mostly smuggled to Tibet, where the items are in high demand.
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