Nandurbar police bust illegal transportation of approx 300 wildlife animals and birds including five foxes

Nashik: The local crime branch (LCB) of the Nandurbar police busted a major wildlife trafficking operation on Monday night, rescuing nearly 300 birds and animals hidden behind vegetable crates in a Gujarat-bound truck.The intercepted cargo included five foxes, 99 Alexandrine (green-coloured, red-beaked) parrots, and 190 partridges (teetars). The truck was traveling from Malegaon in Nashik district to Vadodara, Gujarat, when it was stopped at the Bardipada toll plaza in Visarwadi on the Dhule-Surat highway.Acting on a specific tip-off regarding a vehicle transporting prohibited wildlife, an LCB team, under the guidance of superintendent of police (SP) Shravan Dath S, established a ‘nakabandi' (roadblock) at the toll plaza. Upon inspecting the vehicle, officials found the live animals and birds meticulously concealed behind stacks of vegetable crates.The police took the driver and two others into custody. The suspects have been identified as Shahzad Ahmad Atique Ahmad (47), Momin Mohammad Moin Samsul Haq (32), and Shaikh Sohail Shaikh Afzal Qureshi (24), all residents of Malegaon. During interrogation, the trio—who are transporters by profession—claimed they were hired by individuals in Malegaon to deliver the animals to Vadodara.PI Hemant Patil of the Nandurbar LCB stated that the total value of the seized wildlife and the truck exceeds Rs23 lakh. A case has been registered against the three suspects at the Visarwadi Police Station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.The accused were produced in court and remanded in police custody until April 18. The operation was carried out by the LCB team under the leadership of SP Shravan Dath S and additional SP Ashit Kamble.