Pangolins are poached mainly for markets in China and southeast Asia for their scales which are used as ingredients in traditional medicines.
Hyderabad: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) arrested four persons for illegally possessing 6.53 kg of scales of the Indian pangolin, or ant-eater, in Hanamkonda and seized the contraband. The scales were believed to have come from five pangolins.
DRI officials said that on a tip-off, they arrested the accused after a day-long operation. The accused along with the seized articles were handed over to the forest range officer, Hanamkonda.
Pangolins are poached mainly for markets in China and southeast Asia for their scales which are used as ingredients in traditional medicines. The Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) is listed in Schedule-I of Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 which strictly prohibits the trade of such animals and their articles. Their international trade is prohibited under Appendix I of CITES ( Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), the DRI said.
