Assam: Police recover 7 endangered species of monkey in Hailakandi, 1 held

Hailakandi police in Assam have managed to rescue seven endangered species of black monkeys or Apes. 

The monkeys were rescued from inside a truck during a naka checking at Jamira police chowki around 9pm on Monday, November 14. 

The monkeys were rescued by the police hidden in four boxes inside a truck bearing registration number NL 01 AD 4984, while it was coming from Mizoram and was enroute to Meghalaya. 

The monkeys were later handed over to the forest department after a medical check-up by the veterinary doctor. 
Police have also arrested the driver of the truck identified as Rakesh Deb and another person accompanying him. The two are currently being interrogated by the police. 

Hailakandi Superintendent of Police Nabaneet Mahanta said the value of the extinct species of monkeys in the international market is estimated to be worth several crores of rupees. On the other hand, the rescued animals will be sent to the Guwahati Zoo, the Hailakandi Forest Department said.

It needs mention here that in the past few weeks, there have been a rise in the number of rare and endangered species of animals being smuggled into India and later being sold in the international market.
In a similar incident, Forest officials in Cachar, Assam rescued 13 exotic animals, caged in three boxes in a tea garden in the wee hours of the morning on October 19.

The animals suspected to have been smuggled includes Moor macaques and guenon.
Speaking to the media, Cachar divisional forest officer (DFO) Tejas Mariswami said that the animals were not native to India, so they must have been smuggled from across the border.

The forest official who rescued them said that locals initially found them in the Derby tea garden and informed the forest department.

As per sources, there were four boxes of which one was empty. A total of 13 primates were collected caged in three different boxes from the tea garden manager’s bungalow. The primates are now being transported to the Guwahati zoo. 

In the past, Assam police officers have detained a number of traffickers and saved rescued rare creatures, including birds and reptiles.