File photo New Delhi: In a major blow to an organized illegal wildlife trafficking network, the MP State Tiger Strike Force, in coordination with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, arrested Tarak Nath Ghosh, the kingpin of a reptile smuggling racket, from Kanpur on Sunday, reports Vishwa Mohan. Ghosh, part of a gang once run by Chennai-based international wildlife smuggler Manivannan Murugesan, was wanted in three cases of international illegal trade of turtles and crocodiles registered in MP. Murugesan was arrested in 2018, but Ghosh was arrested in 2018.

Had absconded. “He operated from Kolkata and bought crocodiles and turtles from the Chambal and Yamuna rivers and smuggled them into Bangladesh,” an officer said.