By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, April 20: The Meghalaya government has established State and District-Level Wildlife Crime Control Units to bolster the detection, investigation and prosecution of wildlife offences across the state.
The move, announced by the Forest and Environment Department, supersedes a 2016 notification and follows directives from the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB).
The State-Level Unit will be chaired by the Chief Wildlife Warden and includes senior officials from the police, forest department, Border Security Force (BSF), Customs Department, and the WCCB. This specialised force is tasked with intelligence gathering, dismantling organised criminal networks, monitoring online wildlife trade, and tracking illegal financial transactions. It will also serve as the nodal agency for coordination with national and international bodies, including INTERPOL.
At the district level, sub-units will be led by Conservators of Forests. These units, comprising district police and forest officers alongside BSF and Customs representatives, will focus on ground-level intelligence, conducting investigations, and filing cases in court.
Issued by Principal Secretary MBK Reddy, the notification aims to improve coordination among enforcement agencies to address wildlife trafficking with inter-state and international links, safeguarding the state’s biodiversity.
