Thaindian News

New Delhi, Aug 26 (IANS) A gang using the Orkut and other popular networking sites for illegal wildlife trade was busted in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut town, and threatened wildlife, including a rare albino civet, were seized alive, officials said Tuesday.Two gang members were arrested from the Lalkurti locality of the town and many threatened wildlife, including peacocks, parakeets and a rare albino civet cat were seized alive.

This may be the first case in the country linked with Internet wildlife trade.

Officials said members of the gang used the Orkut networking site for meeting new customers as well as to close deals with existing clients in the Middle East and Europe.

A team of Uttar Pradesh’s special task force and the forest department conducted the raid, after Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), an NGO, alerted the officials.

“The accused was in the process of settling a deal on the civet cat for Rs.300,000 with a customer in Dubai, but we surprised him with the raid,” said a WTI official requesting anonymity.

The civet cat may be the first albino common Indian civet ever recorded - a very rare species, he said.

Mahesh Chandra, wildlife warden of Meerut, said the accused have been sent to jail Tuesday afternoon after being charged under the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. The birds would be released after permission from the magistrate.

Ashok Kumar, vice-chairman of WTI, said the crackdown has exposed a huge illegal market for birds on the Internet. But there is more evidence now to further this investigation, he added.

Kumar said NGOs in India as well as abroad have been urging their governments for implementing strict measures to stop the online wildlife trade.

International NGOs in the past even exposed websites where illegal ivory products had been displayed for sale, said Kumar, adding the latest arrest may be the first case involving the Internet wildlife trade in the country.