Tiger Skin Seizures

BARUIPUR: The skin of a Bengal Tiger was seized by a special team of Sunderbans Tiger Reserve <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=Tiger%20Reserve>  (STR) officials from Baruipur in South 24-Parganas on Monday night. Three persons were arrested in this connection.

Police suspect the trio to be part of a big tiger parts racket. On Monday evening, they were waiting for a customer at Baruipur Bazar with a tiger's skin in a bag. The STR team, led by senior forest officer Anjan Guha, got a tip about the trio's location and immediately contacted police.

A joint police and forest department team arrested the suspects and seized the skin. The trio will be produced in Alipore court <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=Alipore%20court>  on Tuesday, said an official.

Read more: Tiger skin seized on city outskirts – The Times of India <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Tiger-skin-seized-on-city-outskirts/articleshow/6932484.cms#ixzz15QXthXVN> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Tiger-skin-seized-on-city-outskirts/articleshow/6932484.cms#ixzz15QXthXVN
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16 November 2010, HANOI – A Vietnamese man was arrested in possession of a frozen tiger before he was able to sell the body of the endangered animal to collectors, state media reported on Tuesday.

Pham Hai Nam told police he bought the animal for 600 million dong (30,800 dollars) in the northeastern port town of Hai Phong and planned to sell it for 46,000 dollars, according to An Ninh Thu Do newspaper.

The 39-year-old, who was detained in Hanoi on Monday, also reportedly told police he would crush the tiger's bones to make traditional medicine if he failed to find a buyer for the whole carcass.

The animal, which weighed 150 kilograms (330 pounds) and was 1.5 metres (five feet) long, has been given to the Museum of Nature for preservation, the report said.

It is believed the tiger was smuggled into Vietnam from overseas.

Environment police in Hanoi declined to comment.

The natural habitat of tigers has been threatened by rapid urbanisation in Asia where they are hunted for fur and body parts used in traditional medicine.

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