KOLKATA: Seven people were arrested from Ramkrishnapur in Kulpi for trying to smuggle two monitor lizards.
Acting on a tip-off, the forest department and police cracked down on this racket that was active in smuggling live animals from Bengal to Saudi Arabia via Jharkhand. The monitor lizards were found at the house of a local, Arup Mondal, who was among the seven arrested. “The reptiles, each 1.5-ft long, are much in demand in the Arabian countries. Their parts are used for medicinal purposes,” police said.