Busted! Raid at Ex-Colonel's House in India Reveals Massive Animal Poaching Racket

A raid carried out by the officials in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut has unraveled a shocking animal poaching racket organized by a retired Colonel named Devindra Kumar.

As per the report of Times of India, at least 117 kilograms of blue bull meat, animal skin, ivory, five skulls of deer, horns of sambar deer, antlers of antelope and black buck, as well as 40 guns, have been recovered from Kumar's warehouse. In addition, other unlicensed weapons and massive amount of Rs 1 crore were seized from his home.

Chief Conservator of Forests Mukesh Kumar said, "The meat of blue bull was seized from a refrigerator. A sample was taken and it will be sent to laboratory for testing."

One India noted that the Ex-Colonel's son Prashant Bishnoi, who is a national level shooter, is also involved in the illegal affairs

"Just like any other student I take in, I interviewed him thoroughly and found him very enthusiastic. But it was only after taking him on board that I realized there was something suspicious. He had started learning shooting with a Remington-make or a Winchester-make semi-automatic weapon, which has been banned by the Indian government for years now," former coach of Bishnoi recalled in an interview with India Times.

The Chief said they are looking at pressing charges for both the father and son for violating relevant provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 and gun running. However, nothing has been formalized yet as both are still at large.

The 17-hour crackdown was organized by local officials, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and the forest department on April 29 at around 3:30 a.m.

Quint reported that they were able to track down Kumar's warehouse, after three individuals -- including a Slovenian national who was suspected to be a supplier of illegal arms -- were intercepted on Saturday at the Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport. They reportedly misdeclared to Customs the quantity of weapons, including 25 illegal ones, that they were carrying.

The trio have been sent to Tihar Jail on the charges of smuggling of weapons on Monday evening. The officials of Meerut will conduct further investigation to put an end to the illegal undertakings.