Man held with deer skin worth Rs3.5 lakh

The DB Marg police on Tuesday arrested a 38-year-old with deer skin worth Rs3.5 lakh. The police suspect that the arrested person is part of a syndicate that smuggles wildlife products.

The arrested person has been identified as Mohammad Nohimuddin Basid, a resident of Kamathipura in Nagpada.

According to the police, officers of unit II of crime branch had received specific information that a man would be arriving near Dreamland Cinema in Grant Road with deer skin.

After getting the information verified, the police laid a trap at the location on Tuesday around 4pm. Around 4.50pm, a man was intercepted there after his movements were found to be suspicious. On searching him, the deer skin was recovered, an officer said.

Basid's custody was then handed over to the DB Marg police and a case under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act was registered against him. Basid was produced before a court on Wednesday and remanded in police custody for two days.

"His interrogation revealed that he had bought the skin from a woman in Zaveri Bazaar, who sells old notes, and was supposed to hand it over to a friend named Guddu Nepali near the area where the trap was laid. We are investigating further to get more details about those suspected to be a part of the syndicate," said an officer.