Wildlife trafficking band busted in northeastern Iran

December 29, 2019 - 18:32

TEHRAN – Members of a wildlife trafficking band who were smuggling birds of prey from Sabzevar county, northeastern province of Khorasan Razavi, were arrested, director of provincial department of environment (DOE) has announced.

Following police’s inspection of two passenger cars, five valuable birds of prey were discovered and four members of the hunting and smuggling gang were arrested, three of whom were from a Persian Gulf littoral state, IRNA quoted Touraj Hemmati as saying on Sunday.

According to the hunting law, any illegal hunting, buying, selling, transporting and keeping of hunting birds will face imprisonment and a fine.

The poachers caused the DOE a loss of 12 billion rials (about $285,000), Hemmati noted.

The traffickers smuggled wildlife through the southern borders of the country to the Persian Gulf after alive capturing of endangered birds of prey, including Kestrel, Barbary falcon, Saker falcon, and Falcon, he further explained.

Previously, members of several hunting and smuggling gangs of such valuable birds were arrested in Khorasan Razavi province and handed over to judicial authorities, he stated.

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