Wildlife Crime: DRI & Forest Department Recover 9 Tiger Nails, 61 Bones & Decomposed Cub Carcass In Seoni, MP

Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Nagpur Unit, under the Mumbai Zonal Unit, conducted a joint operation with officials from the South Seoni Forest Division in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh, resulting in the seizure of nine nails, sixty-one bones, and the decomposed carcass of a tiger cub.

Acting on specific intelligence that a group of individuals had killed a tiger cub and subsequently buried its carcass in a forested area near Sarekha Khurd village. DRI Nagpur with forest officials, intercepted six individuals attempting to sell the tiger’s body parts in violation of wildlife protection laws.

The seized wildlife articles and the six apprehended individuals were arrested and handed over to the Forest Department, Range Barghat, Seoni, Madhya Pradesh, for further investigation and legal proceedings under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Tigers are listed under Schedule I of the Act, which strictly prohibits the trade, sale, purchase, or possession of their body parts including nails, bones, and skin.

This operation follows earlier seizures conducted by DRI Mumbai—one in January 2025 in Akola, Maharashtra, where a leopard skin was recovered and three individuals were apprehended, and another in May 2025 in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, leading to the recovery of two leopard skins and the arrest of two persons.

These successive operations underline DRI’s continued commitment to dismantling wildlife trafficking networks through sustained, intelligence-based enforcement. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence reiterates its resolve to uphold and enforce legal provisions aimed at safeguarding India’s wildlife heritage.