The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached a land measuring 11.5752 decimal (5042 sq.ft.) in Kolkata valuing Rs 77.7 lakhs under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) belonging to a notorious smuggler of wildlife Supradip Guha in a case related to Illegal trading and smuggling of Wildlife in Eastern India. In a first of its kind case, the ED had attached three chimpanzees, four marmosets and other precious birds of Indian and foreign origin from his premises. At present, Guha is absconding and a look out circular has been issued for him.
"Accused Guha a resident of Baguiati , Kolkata was involved inlarge scale illegal trade of wild life in West Bengal since long," it said in a statement. The ED said its probe found Guha was "running an organised wildlife smuggling racket". 'He is a clever criminal and recorded contradictory statements before the customs authorities and wildlife authorities to evade action from both the departments, it alleged
According to the ED, seven animals are valued at Rs 81 lakh, with each chimpanzee worth Rs 25 lakh and a marmoset, a species of small long-tailed South American monkeys, about Rs 1.5 lakh.
ED sources said that investigation was initiated under PMLA on receipt of information from the Wild Life Department of West Bengal regarding seizure of prohibited Wildlife under Indian Wildlife protection Act 1972.
Investigation also revealed that the accused had also procured fake transportation certificate for illegally transporting scheduled and protected Indian Birds for which a separate FIR No. 86/2019 was registered against him by PS North Bidhannagar of WB Police.
Investigations under PMLA revealed that accused Supradip Guha had deposited illegally earned money into 8 bank accounts owned by him in his name and in the name of his family member and his firms. Investigation also revealed that the accused was running an organised racket dealing in illegal wild life trade and the proceeds of crime so earned by him run into more than three crores. The agency said the first-of-its-kind attachment under the PMLA "enabled" the zoo authorities to retain the animals as the smuggler was making attempts to take them away.