Poachers use postal service for smuggling, exploit loopholes in country's postal department

Smugglers are conveniently exploiting loopholes in the country's postal department to transport extinct and endangered animals.

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Poachers use postal service for smuggling, exploit loopholes in country's postal department
Endangered animals smuggled through postal services.

In Short

  • Mohammed Shamim Hasan, a wildlife smuggler, was recently arrested who was in illegal business for over two decades.
  • His gang was using Indian postal services to smuggle endangered animals to international poachers.
  • Over 122 arrested who were involved in poaching since the Special Task Force became active in March 2015.

The time-honoured postal department had become part and parcel of Mohammed Shamim Hasan's sprawling poaching trade. The revelation came when a joint team of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh cops arrested the wildlife smuggler who was in the illegal business for over two decades and had established networks with international poachers.

During questioning he told authorities that his gang was using the Indian postal service to transport Pangolin scales to Kolkata from where the consignments were sent to Nepal, Bhutan, China, Hong Kong, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries through the porous border areas of West Bengal, Manipur and other Northeastern states.

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"Shamim is a notorious poacher who has been dealing in nails and skins of tigers, leopards and other animals," UP special task force's additional superintendent of police Arvind Chaturvedi told Mail Today. "But recently he was trading mostly in scales of the Pangolin, which is the most trafficked mammal in the world. One mammal has around 1.5 to 2 kg of scales and close to 10 active poachers in the forests of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are killing 15-20 animals daily for him.

The shy pangolin's brown scales are made of keratin, a substance also found in human skin and hair. It is highly prized in Thailand, Vietnam and China for rumoured medicinal properties to treat ailments ranging from asthma to rheumatism and arthritis. The mammal's meat is considered a delicacy in some Southeast Asian countries.

Also Read: Patna: Class 11th student turns into liquor smuggler, arrested with 14 liquor bottles

In India, pangolins face a major threat from poaching. They are hunted for their protein-rich flesh and for the scales used in folk remedies.

The ant-eating animal has been listed under Schedule 1 of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as an endangered species. Wildlife experts claim if poaching continues, the pangolin could go extinct. Hunting or trade in pangolins in India is a criminal offence and can lead to imprisonment between three to seven years and a fine.

What are Pangolins?

Pangolins are nocturnal mammals that look more like living pinecones. When confronted it curls-up into a ball and saves itself from most of its predators, including lions. The strategy, however, is ineffective against one cunning mammal: humans. They simply pick the animal up with the ease of picking up a rabbit. The shy animal's brown scales are made of Keratin, the same substance that constitutes fingernails.

The scales are highly prized in Thailand, Vietnam and China where they are valued for its medicinal properties and are used in treatments, right from asthma to rheumatism and arthritis. The mammal's meat is also considered a delicacy in some Southeast Asian countries. The ant-eating animal is listed under Schedule 1 of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as an endangered species.

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Also Read: Is illegal animal trafficking a threat to the nation?

Shamim has engaged local nomadic tribes for catching and killing, and has groomed nontrade people as carriers. "Pangolin poachers are active in Hoshangabad, Chhindwara, Balaghat, Baitul and Itarsi in Madhya Pradesh. Once the animal is killed, the scales are given to non-trade people to bring them over to Kanpur. Shamim's gang put them in tight packets and transported them through the postal department," Chaturvedi explained. "The gang earlier used manual mode to transport and later shifted to private courier services but they started asking questions about the contents.

The smuggler then started dispatching contraband wildlife articles through the postal department as the contents of the parcels are not verified or scanned. They used to change post offices and booked under fake names and addresses."

Even when these parcels are intercepted, it becomes difficult to track the sender because of the fake addresses. "We have highlighted the issue to the postal department and have also alerted the wildlife crime control bureau about misuse of postal services. It can be fixed by installing scanners at the point of booking parcels and use of transparent bags," said Chaturvedi.

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Also Read: Truck filled with camel meat seized at Delhi's Vasant Kunj

Even other wildlife smugglers, trafficking parts of wild animals including horns, ivory and skins, send their supplies packed in parcels through post offices. The list of items includes ivory articles, tiger nails, snakeskin, seashells, herbs, orchids, etc.

The arrest of Shamim is seen as major success for Madhya Pradesh forest department's special task force, which says it has arrested 122 people involved in poaching since the STF became active in March 2015.

His arrest came after MP's STF caught two members of a nomadic tribe in January who killed more than 100 jackals and were carrying 10 leg-hold traps. During interrogation they revealed Shamim's name as a big buyers of animal skin and other parts. Local poachers usually paid `6,000 for pangolin scales weighing around 1.3 to 2 kg. It takes Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000 more to parcel and send it to Kolkata through post. The gang earned Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 for each consignment, but it fetches 30 times more in the international market.

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In 2001, police had seized a huge consignment of nails and skins of tigers, leopards and other animal from Shamim's house. In 2013, his brother Shakil too was arrested with pangolin scales and skin from Kanpur.

Also Read: World Wildlife Week: Why is poaching still a crisis in India?

Shamim belongs to Khaga town in Uttar Pradesh's Fatehpur district, which has been an infamous hub of the tannery industry since the colonial era. MP's assistant conservator of forests (ACF) Ritesh Sirothia says his teams found many post offices that were being used to illegally smuggle contraband wildlife articles in packets below four-five kg in weight. The addresses given were fake and even the postal department did not maintain records beyond six months.

Sirothia said 29 districts of the state have been affected by pangolin poaching. "Constant crackdown and Shamim's arrest will put some brakes on the illegal trade. According to our information, rate of scales at international borders was $1,000 (Rs 66,800 based on present rates) a few years ago, but after crackdown this has gone up to $2,500 (Rs 1.67 lakh)," he said. The officer, however, said the forest department lacks powers and resources to track these poachers through electronic surveillance and internet as even illegal traders are going high-tech.