Acting on a tip-off, officials of Berhampur forest department in Ganjam district recovered the carcasses of at least 10 monkeys while they were being smuggled in from Andhra Pradesh to Odisha by an auto-rickshaw. Another five alive monkeys were also rescued in a critical condition from the vehicle near Jarada area.
The five monkeys were later released in the forest after treatment, sources from the forest department said.
The forest department officials also arrested two smugglers from Andhra’s Godavari district and forwarded them to court. The two confessed to smuggling the monkeys from Andhra Pradesh to Tuma forest in Ganjam district.
Forest officials suspected the involvement of more persons and launched a manhunt to trace the racket behind the smuggling of the monkey carcass. The reason behind the smuggling of the carcasses is yet to be known.
“All the monkeys were being smuggled from Andhra Pradesh. They were also stuffed in eight sacks. After getting information, our staff on patrolling duty, conducted raids and made the seizure. Ten of the monkeys had died while another five were alive. After veterinary check-up, they were released in the forest. Two smugglers were arrested and have been forwarded to court. We have also seized the tempo used for the smuggling. Further probe into the incident is on,” informed Berhampur DFO Amlan Nayak.