Most wanted poachers busted in India & Nepal
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1995:
DELHI, KASARA– – The
two most notorious living poachers on
the Asian subcontinent were arrested on
June 30 and July 20, respectively, as
result of separate investigations.
The Indian Central Bureau of
Investigation apprehended Sansar
Chand, 47, after tracing him to his
Delhi home by identifying his newspa-
per reading habits: a native of
Rajasthan, Chand read Rajasthani
papers in a neighborhood where few oth-
ers did.
First arrested for poaching and
wildlife trafficking at age 16, in 1974,
when he was found in possession of 676
animal pelts including those of tigers
and leopards, Chand worked with at
least five close relatives. He was report-
edly convicted 15 times without serving
any significant sentence, even after he
was caught with 28,486 contraband pelts
in 1988. Fifty-seven cases are pending
against him in nine Indian states, wrote
London Independent Delhi correspon-
dent Justin Huggler.
Apprehending Chand became
an Indian government priority after he
was linked to the annihilation of the tiger
population at Sariska National Park.
The loss of tigers, confirmed in Nov-
ember 2004 after months of suspicion,
destroyed the tourism appeal of one of
India’s former top visitor attractions.
The Royal Nepal Army and
Royal Chitwan National Park staff cap-
tured eight reputed major rhino horn
poachers and traffickers three weeks
later, including Pemba Lama Gurung,
a.k.a. Yakche. Believed to be about 40,
Pemba Lama Gurung reportedly con-
fessed to buying 20 poached rhino horns.
Wildlife Action Group attor-
ney Ravi Sharma Aryal saluted the arrest
as “possibly the biggest catch of its kind
in Nepal.”
