
Lucknow: A smuggler carrying tiger’s teeth meant to be delivered to a buyer was nabbed by a joint team of STF and Wildlife department from Barabanki on Saturday. The team recovered five tiger teeth, an Aadhaar Card, a mobile phone and over Rs 2,500 from the accused identified as Harivinder Singh (40) of Lakhimpur Kheri district. ASP, STF, Vishal Vikram Singh said the accused confessed he had been smuggling and poaching for a long time and had amassed wealth out of smuggling limbs and parts of animals.
Singh added that police were tipped off that the accused would deliver the tiger teeth in Barabanki and the team had laid a trap. “The miscreant disclosed he had been given four big teeth and one small tooth of the big cat by Rakesh Nayak of Kheri district two months back and had been asked to deliver it to a man in Barabanki for Rs 2.5 lakh. He said Rakesh would have received Rs 2.5 lakh in his bank account, while he would get Rs 50,000 for delivering the probhibited items in Barabanki. The accused said the gang was led by a Nepalese man, Kharka. The accused said he had served jail term for a motorcycle theft earlier,” said the ASP.