3 years, 100 tigers killed & counting: new-age poaching mafia taps tech, digital payments, hawala networks

This newspaper tracked arrest records and court documents, and interviewed forest officials, investigators and former poachers who became informers, to find that this network is leaner and more mobile: fewer middlemen, hired transporters to cut risk as they move consignments, and tie-ups with narcotics and arms syndicates.

Tiger skin and bone seized from Uttarakhand’s Khatima in July 2023 from a gang operating in and around Corbett tiger reserve. (Photo: WCCB)

More than a dozen arrests over the past seven weeks in ongoing probes by forest officials of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, and the Centre’s Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) have partly uncovered one of multiple “verticals” of this module operating mainly through the Myanmar border. While the CBI and the Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) are following separate leads, the ED has also been roped in to track the money trail.

The damage that has come to light has set off alarm bells.

Sources in multiple agencies said the quantum of payments tracked — Rs 7.5-8 crore — accounts for up to 90 tigers, at Rs 8-12 lakh per animal, being taken out in the post-Covid years. Factoring in the “other verticals still in business” and those taking the Nepal-Tibet route, the “total loss (of tigers) can be from 100 to any number”, said a senior investigator — not counting other lucrative offshoots such as the trade in leopard skins and bones, particularly from non-tiger forests of J-K and Ladakh.

For perspective, only eight of India’s 58 tiger reserves have at least 100 or more tigers each. According to the latest national estimation in 2022, India has 3,682 tigers in total.

Forest officials seized 1,000 kg ganja from suspected poachers in Dindori, Madhya Pradesh, in February. MPFD

To get a sense of the damage, look at the Ranthambhore tiger reserve in Rajasthan, a state largely outside the purview of this investigation. Since Covid, Ranthambhore lost 40 tigers and, according to resident wildlife biologist Dr Dharmendra Khandal, the fate of at least half of those — 14 males and six females — is unexplained.

“Old age, intra-species competition and inter-species conflict claimed about 20 tigers. We have no idea how the rest disappeared,” Khandal said, while pointing out that the state discontinued a community watch scheme around Ranthambhore in 2021.

The unearthing of this network has also exposed gaps in the system, which has been banking on a series of tiger census counts over the years, and how several anti-poaching NGOs dropped their guard.

Pime Accused: Sonu Bawaria, Ajeet Pardhi

Records point to at least two squandered chances when two key leaders of this syndicate were arrested for suspected tiger poaching: Sonu Singh Bawaria in July 2023 in Maharashtra, and Ajeet Siyalal Pardhi in July 2024 in Madhya Pradesh. Both got out on bail as poaching peaked through 2024.

“Once on bail, Ajeet went under the radar. But multiple agencies were tracking Sonu for at least six months, yet he managed to hoodwink all of them, sometimes even acting as an informer to eliminate competition,” said a senior Maharashtra forest officer.

Meanwhile, the WCCB, which is a specialised arm to combat wildlife crime, continues to publish a catalogue of convicted poachers, many with addresses, on its website — which, an officer with a Central agency said, effectively “serves as a guide, directing a prospector where to go scouting with a contract in, say, MP or Haryana”.

That’s not all. The WCCB has been without a dedicated chief since IPS officer Tilottama Varma left in August 2022. WCCB joint director Dr Manoj Kumar did not respond to a questionnaire from The Indian Express, but a bureau officer said traders do not “need our website to network” and “tribal poachers anyway belong to closely-knit communities”.

Asked about the lessons learnt in the recent crackdown, G S Bhardwaj, who heads the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), told The Indian Express: “We have already taken proactive and effective steps in the last few weeks. A multi-agency Special Investigation Group has been formed. NTCA is following up with the states on a day-to-day basis to ensure the ongoing investigation reaches its logical conclusion.”

Pan-India reach, social media touch

The latest set of poachers, according to sources based in Nagpur who are linked to the investigation, have been “in this business for generations” but “unlike their fathers who depended solely on middlemen, they are internet savvy and active on social media”. “Though barely educated, they have no problem running bank accounts, tracking online payments, and booking consignments and flight tickets,” the sources said.

“They largely replaced middlemen with transport services, cutting risk and improving margins. Instead of carrying skin and bones to the northeast, they often booked consignments with a transporter with a storage facility. Then they took trains or flights to reach Guwahati, collected the goods, drove to Shillong and delivered,” an investigator said.

Records and interviews with top officials and informers show this “vertical” started taking shape sometime after the Covid outbreak when Sonu Bawaria from Pinjore in Haryana and Ajeet Pardhi from Katni in Madhya Pradesh — joined hands. While Sonu was a “savvy coordinator with good communication skills”, Ajeet and his clan “specialised in using jaw traps”.

This coalition supplied tiger parts to Myanmar through intermediaries in Meghalaya and Mizoram to China through Ruili, a trade hub, or via the Hekou border of Vietnam and possibly the Mengla border of Laos. From Myanmar through the hawala route via Meghalaya and Mizoram, the network’s alleged money trails have been traced to at least 13 other states: Assam, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, TN, Maharashtra, MP, UP, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and J&K.

Under the control of different syndicates, hauls from northern states still take the traditional Nepal route — predominantly through the Sunauli-Belahiya border in UP’s Maharajganj but also through the Mahakali-Darchula border in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh, and Siliguri in West Bengal.

To the surprise of investigators, however, consignments from other regions were found to be channelled primarily through Myanmar via Guwahati, Shillong and, finally, via Manipur’s Churachandpur district and Mizoram’s Champhai district. Given the political turmoil in Manipur, Mizoram’s border town of Zokhawthar has become the preferred exit.

Two soldiers, two kingpins

According to records, the list of key accused in the crackdown includes Lalneisung, who retired from Assam Regiment in 2015, and Kap Lian Mung, a serving jawan of Assam Rifles, who was allegedly assisting his wife of Myanmarese origin, Ning San Lun. More than 500 photos of tigers and other animal parts were allegedly recovered from Ning’s phone which are now being matched through specialised software with the database of tiger photos.

The kingpins have been identified as two Myanmar businessmen based in Tahan, a town 70 km from Mizoram’s Zokhawthar border, with an airstrip and flights to Yangon and Mandalay. Indian authorities are coordinating with the Interpol for his arrest, sources said.

Records show associates of the businessmen sent money to Aizawl through the hawala route to a man identified as Zamkhan Kap, an alleged local hawala operator. Zamkhan was earlier arrested in 2022 by the ED in connection with the alleged smuggling of human hair from Tirupati to Myanmar.

A mix of work and play

Since the poachers use mostly zero-balance bank accounts, money was usually transferred in tranches of Rs 3 lakh through IMPS. Every family member of those involved allegedly maintained separate accounts to receive payments. Ajeet Pardhi’s family members, for instance, allegedly held accounts in Bank of Baroda and ICICI Bank in Katni, MP.

“Once deliveries were made and payments received, some of them took time off before sealing the next deal and travelled to cities, such as Mumbai, to spend time with their girlfriends and splurge on gifts,” sources said.

Old bones, new methods

What has also set these new-age poachers apart are their novel methods. For instance, they have started applying powdered alum to fresh bones to reduce the smell and thus avoid detection during transport. Fresh bones fetch a lot more for their marrow and flesh residue, which help mature tiger wine, said sources.

Another product that has become popular, particularly in Vietnam, is bone glue, a gelatinous substance made by stewing relatively older or drier bones with other ingredients. “Invented’ in Thailand, this glue is mixed with wine “to treat arthritis and rheumatism”.

Other big worry

Meanwhile, looking for Ajeet’s three absconding sons in MP’s Dindori, where they have allegedly amassed land, investigators unearthed a consignment of 1,000 kg of ganja last month. This has opened up a new angle of narcotic trade integrated with the supply of wildlife contraband.

Also, the recent arrests in Shillong were made from the Happy Town neighbourhood dominated by non-Khasi communities. It is suspected, officials said, that the wildlife traders had protection from certain insurgent groups who may have used them as illegal arms runners.