International Wildlife Trafficker Nabbed in India After Years on the Run

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In a major breakthrough, Indian authorities have arrested an international wildlife trafficker, Yangchen Lachungpa, who was wanted under an INTERPOL Red Notice. Lachungpa, a resident of Lachung, was apprehended on December 2 in North Sikkim after a sustained intelligence effort and coordinated ground action. The wildlife offender, linked to an organized trafficking network spanning Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, and several Indian cities, was a key member of the network. This arrest is one of the most significant wildlife crime cases in the country linked to an INTERPOL Red Notice. According to the environment ministry, the Sikkim Police, forest department, judiciary, and district administration cooperated in the operation, with the Sashastra Seema Bal providing secure transit support. Lachungpa was taken to Gangtok for a medical examination and produced before a competent court on December 3, which rejected her bail plea and granted transit remand to Madhya Pradesh. The case against Lachungpa dates back to 2015, when the Madhya Pradesh forest department registered a case regarding poaching and illegal trade of tiger body parts and pangolin scales. The ministry said another main accused, Jai Tamang, confessed to supplying wildlife contraband to Lachungpa, firmly establishing her role in the trafficking chain. Lachungpa had previously been apprehended in 2017 but violated bail conditions and absconded, prompting an arrest warrant in 2019. The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau sought an INTERPOL Red Notice through the Central Bureau of Investigation, which was secured on October 2. This arrest is a significant blow to the transnational trafficking of wildlife contraband, particularly tiger parts, and further investigation is expected to uncover the network's backward and forward linkages.