Sagar Biswas : Members of the Wildlife Crime Control Unit [WCCU] under the Department of Forest detained two persons along with 800 different species of birds conducting a raid at Tongi in Gazipur on Wednesday.The detainees were identified as Nazrul, 38, and Lal Mia, 40, of Sherpur district. Of the seized birds, there were blossom-headed parakeets, munias, house sparrows and starlings, the officials said.A magistrate court sentenced the two detainees to one year imprisonment soon after Wildlife Crime Control Unit rescued the birds. Acting on a tip-off, the forest officials conducted a raid at a warehouse in Riaznagar area near Joydebpur intersection yesterday early morning and nabbed the illegal bird catchers. “The birds were caught from the North Bengal in a bid to smuggle out of the country. The seized birds were later released in Gazipur Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park,” Conservator of Forest [wildlife] Dr Tapan Kumar Dey said.”Apart from the WCCU, we have introduced a hotline service in a bid to protect the wild animals,” he said.Inspector of the WCCU Ashim Mallick said they also found eight dead birds at the warehouse. “The birds were handed over to Agargaon forest office and they later released the birds in Safari Park,” he said. According to officials, the two were arrested earlier for the same reason, but they again started bird trade.
