Police arrest fugitive wildlife smuggler

Nepal: The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police on Monday arrested Lodu Dime, a notorious wildlife smuggler involved in illegal trading and trafficking of wildlife parts.

Dime aka Jimi, who has been convicted of wildlife crime in Nepal, was brought back to the country after his arrest by Indian Police in coordination with the Interpol.

The Interpol section of Nepal Police which brought along the fugitive by an Air India flight handed him over to the CIB team upon their arrival at the Tribhuwan International Airport.

Dime has been convicted for trading of bones and skins of tigers.

“We have been able to capture him with the coordination and cooperation of Interpol India. He will soon be handed over to the Nuwakot district police,” said DSP Anupam Shumsher Rana of the CIB.

The Nuwakot police had seized five tiger skins and seven sacks of animal parts, including bones, from a vehicle which was en route from Kathmandu to Rasuwa in January 2013.

The wildlife items were reportedly trafficked to China with the involvement of Dime, who was later slapped with a fine of Rs 100,000 by the District Forest Office Nuwakot while he was still on the run.

In March 2015, the Appellate Court, Patan had found him guilty of selling and trafficking wildlife parts and sentenced him to five years in prison. Following the court verdict, the Nepal Police stepped up its search of absconding Dime.

“During the search operation, it was learnt that he was operating from India. We gathered documents from the agencies concerned to issue a Red Corner Notice against him,” added DSP Rana.

The Interpol General Secretariat had issued the Red Corner Notice against the fugitive last month at the request of the Interpol Nepal.

(Source: The Kathmandu Post)