NEW DELHI: In a major blow to an organised illegal wildlife trafficking network, MP State Tiger Strike Force, in coordination with Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, arrested Tarak Nath Ghosh, kingpin of a reptile smuggling racket, from Kanpur Sunday, reports Vishwa Mohan.Ghosh, part of a gang once operated by Chennai-based international wildlife smuggler Manivannan Murugesan, is wanted in three cases of transnational illegal trade in turtles and gharials registered in MP.Murugesan was arrested in 2018, but Ghosh had been absconding. “He operated from Kolkata and trafficked gharials and turtles to Bangladesh after procuring them from Chambal and Yamuna rivers,” an official said.
