3 Arrested in Assam for Smuggling 11 Tokay Geckos Worth ₹60 Lakh Each

Assam: On Thursday, officials arrested three men in the Dibrugarh district of Assam for allegedly trafficking 11 endangered Tokay Gecko lizards. The Assam Police's Special Task Force (STF) rescued the Schedule-I protected species during the operation.

The lizards were reportedly going for £60 lakh each or even at higher prices in the international markets. “The price goes higher in some countries and as per reports, these lizards are used for some weird medicinal purposes,” a senior Assam Police officer said.

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The three suspected smugglers were intercepted at a Dhaba in Mohanbari Tiniali of Dibrugarh. “Two of them came in the car while the third person came in a motorcycle. It is suspected that they were making some deal there but we managed to catch them before this,” STF inspector Kamalesh Singh said.

An operation was launched after a tip-off that some endangered species are being smuggled from Arunachal Pradesh to Assam, inspector Singh said, “The STF team led by DSP Satyendra Singh Hazari conducted a special operation in different areas and managed to catch the vehicle carrying the endangered species.”

They are Debashis Dohutia, a resident of Tinsukia district, aged 34 years; Manash Dohutia, aged 28 years, also of Tinsukia; and Dipankar Gharphalia, aged 40 years, of Dibrugarh.

"A team from Wildlife Justice Commission, South Asia Office examined them in presence of the STF and confirmed that 11 Tokay Gecko lizards were there in the red colored backpack bags seized from the car," an official said.

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Spot interrogation revealed that they were finalizing a deal to sell the lizards for Rs. One lakh each, the official added.

It is suspected that these rescued lizards are Tokay Gecko, but the specialists of Zoological Department are further investigating it, said divisional forest officer (DFO) of Dibrugarh BV Sandeep.

“As per the initial findings, these are scheduled-1 endangered species under Wildlife Protection Protection 1972. Once the identification is completed, we’ll release them to their natural habitats. Since these are live species, we follow this process,” he said on Saturday.

According to the experts, these Tokay Gecko lizards are found in some areas of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. These are one of the highest protected species and killing or harming them is considered an offence punishable by imprisoning for up to seven years.

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