Seven apes were rescued from smugglers on Monday. The police arrested both of them by chasing more than 10 kilometers at night.
Hailakandi Divisional Forest Officer Akhil Dutta said that the rescued animals are not indigenous to India, but belong to the endangered species of ape.
“At around 8:30 pm on Monday, they reached our checkpost and we noticed some boxes inside the vehicle. We asked them to show the boxes but the driver tried to flee. We chased almost 10 kilometres to catch them,” he said.
Additionally, shipments come from countries like Indonesia and Myanmar. They use a route through Myanmar and India to transport rare species to international markets. Each animal costs up to Rs 40 crore.