Two held for smuggling leopard cats and lion cubs in Jessore

Police have detained two men in Jessore after recovering two leopard cats and two lion cubs from their vehicle.

Jessore Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 13 Nov 2017, 11:48 AM
Updated : 13 Nov 2017, 11:48 AM

The incident occurred in the town’s Chachra Checkpost on Monday, said Jessore Superintendent of Police Anisur Rahman.

The detainees have been identified as Quamruzzaman Babu, 32, and Rana Miah, 28.

Police have impounded their vehicle.

The vehicle had been stopped and searched after police received a top that it was being used to smuggle wild animals to India, the police superintendent said. The four cubs were found hidden in two wooden crates.

The ‘smugglers’ were taken into custody and the animals handed over to forest officials, said SP Anisur Rahman.

“We believe two of them are lion cubs,” said Forest Department Official Sarwar Alam. “The other two are leopard cats.”

“The cheetah-like animals can be found in Bangladesh’s Sylhet and the tea gardens in India’s Meghalaya, Assam and Mizoram. Lions, however, are not native to Bangladesh. We think they were brought in from overseas.”

Other forest officials would be able to provide more information, he added.