Assam Police Busts International Wildlife Trafficking Network, Arrests Nine Including Bangladeshi National
A Bangladeshi national was among nine wildlife traffickers arrested in western Assam's Chirang district around midnight on Friday (June 19, 2026), according to officials.
The Assam Police's Special Task Force (STF) made the arrests with assistance from the Chirang police along Bamungaon Road under Sidli police station. Eight golden langurs were recovered from their possession, one of which was found dead.
The golden langur is an endangered species protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, with an estimated black market value of about ₹16 lakh, officials said.
The arrested Bangladeshi national was identified as Mohammed Jamal. He stated he was from Dhaka and entered India on June 15. Officials suspect he entered the country illegally.
An STF spokesperson said five of Jamal's accomplices — Injamamul Hoque Mondal, Abdul Khalek Mondal, Fakir Chand Mandal, Alomgir Mulla, and Latibul Shaikh — are from West Bengal. The remaining three, identified as Jackson Biswakarma, Ranjit Narzary, and Pinkush Narzary, are from Assam.
The spokesperson said the nine were part of a major international wildlife trafficking network. They were transporting the primates in two vehicles.
Chirang Divisional Forest Officer Kunjan Basumatary said two cages were arranged for the golden langurs, as they had been kept in suffocating sacks.
“The langurs were under stress. They will be released in their natural habitat soon in the presence of a magistrate,” he said.
Mr. Basumatary said that the animals were captured from the Ultapani area of Kokrajhar district and were being trafficked through local intermediaries in Chirang for delivery to prospective buyers. The two vehicles used to smuggle the primates were seized.
“Considering that a Bangladeshi is involved, we can call it an international wildlife trafficking gang. They had plans to take the animals to West Bengal and from there, to the international black market,” he said, adding that the police and the Forest Department would investigate if more people were part of the gang.
In a related development, on Tuesday (June 17, 2026), police arrested a 24-year-old woman at the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati after she admitted to being a Bangladeshi national.
Officials said airport authorities became suspicious of her movements while she was collecting her baggage after arriving on an evening flight from Bengaluru. She was found using a fake Aadhaar card.
Later, interrogated by the State police's Border Branch and the Border Security Force, the woman said she was a resident of Narayanganj near Dhaka.
Police said she allegedly entered India through Tripura with the help of a human trafficker. “Before she crossed over, she was provided with a forged Aadhaar card in the name of Puja Das, with an address in West Bengal,” an official said.
The woman was sent to the transit camp (detention centre) at Matia in Goalpara district for further legal proceedings.
On Friday (June 19, 2026), police in Guwahati also detained 13 suspected Bangladeshi nationals during a routine verification drive. They were staying at a guesthouse and possessed documents of doubtful origin, police said.
