Four arrested for smuggling endangered lizards

SHRAWASTI (UP): Four persons were arrested here for allegedly trying to smuggle 21 endangered Monitor Lizards worth lakhs of rupees to Nepal.

The smugglers, hailing from Badalpur village, were arrested on Monday while they were trying to smuggle the Monitor Lizards to Nepal, Forest department officials said. The Monitor Lizards are an endangered species listed in schedule one of the Wildlife Act.

A case under the Wildlife Protection Act has been registered against the four and they were sent to jail, an official said.

The accused have confessed that they used to eat the lizards and smuggle its leather and oil to China via Nepal.

According to WWF project officer and wildlife expert Dalbir Hasan, the oil obtained after boiling the lizards has medicinal value.