With the arrest of three persons, Delhi Police today claimed to have busted a gang of animal hide traders and recovered from their possession the skin of a snow leopard, an endangered species.
The last time Delhi Police had recovered snow leopard's hide was around 23 years ago, a senior official said.
The accused have been identified as Ram Singh (28), Tej Singh (23) and Jigmed Ram (20). They allegedly procured the hides of rare predator animals from high altitude areas in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.
Two of the accused were arrested on Tuesday and the police recovered the 8 feet 10 inches-long hide of an adult leopard from their possession. Yesterday, the third member was arrested and 4 ft-long hide of a snow leopard was found from his possession, the official said.
Snow leopards are native to the the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. They are listed as endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List. Species which have their names on the Red List are the ones on the verge of extinction.
