In a major wildlife crime bust, police in Assam’s Dibrugarh district seized 11 rare tokay gecko lizards and arrested three men who were trying to sell them for ₹60 lakh each.
The tokay gecko is a rare and endangered species protected under India’s Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. Selling or smuggling these lizards is illegal and can lead to up to seven years of jail time.
The arrested men have been identified as Debashis Dohutia (34), Manash Dohutia (28), and Dipankar Gharphalia (40). They told police that they had brought the tokay geckos from Arunachal Pradesh and planned to sell them in Dibrugarh.
Police acted after receiving a tip-off about the illegal wildlife trade. A Special Task Force (STF) was formed along with the Dibrugarh district police. They also received support from the Wildlife Justice Commission, South Asia Office.
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The team set a trap at Mohanbari Tiniali, near a dhaba (roadside eatery) called Sun Feast Dhaba. Two suspects arrived in a white car (AS-23W-5506), and another on a bike (AS-06AF-0276). The three met at the dhaba, and one of them took a red backpack from the car and went inside.
At that moment, the STF team stormed the dhaba and caught all three men with the red bag containing the rare tokay geckos.
The tokay gecko is in high demand in the illegal wildlife market in Southeast Asia, but in India, they are found only in limited areas of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
Authorities are now investigating further to crack down on the tokay gecko smuggling network.
