New Delhi: In what is one of the biggest seizures of raw shahtoosh wool in India, over 230 kgs of the wool from the highly endangered Tibetan antelope have been caught in two separate cases.On September 26, 100 kgs of shahtoosh in three bales were caught at New Delhi Railway Station. It had been sent from Jaigaon on the Indo-Nepal border in Bihar.

Last week, the Customs authorities at the Indira Gandhi International Airport’s Cargo terminal seized a 130 kg bale of shahtoosh, illegally declared as [wool top’. The bale was hidden between a large consignment of raw pashmina wool and pashmina shawls from Singapore. While one person has been arrested in this case, no arrests have been made for the earlier case as yet.

Poachers must have slaughtered at least 500 Chirus (Tibetan antelopes) to make the 230 kgs of wool. ‘Shahtoosh’ is the name given to wool derived from the Chiru. The fabric woven from this wool carries the same name and is worn by the fashionable worldwide. The shahtoosh wool is derived from the soft undercoat of the Chiru, which has to be killed before its fleece is removed. In 1977, the Government declared the Chiru as protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of India, 1972.

Killing the Chiru, largely in Tibet and smuggling its wool to Kashmir (the only place where these shawls are woven) is a contravention of CITES, to which 151 countries are signatories. These include all the major nations of the world.

Current estimates put the Chiru population between 50,000 and 75,000 animals. Chinese government sources estimate that 20,000 animals are poached annually. An estimated 1,000,000 animals roamed in the Tibetan Plateau in the earlier part of the last century but have been devastated by the intense poaching.

In the second case, the goods arrived in New Delhi on a Singapore Airlines flight (SQ 408), on October 4. Of this large consignment, two bales were declared as [wool top’ (raw wool is referred to as [wool top’ in trade terms). On suspicion, the Customs’ officials opened both the bales; one had beige coloured wool and the other soft, white wool. Wildlife inspectors of the Ministry of Environment and Forests examined both the samples, with help from Wildlife Trust of India (WTI-www.wildlifetrustofindia.org)) experts. WTI runs its programmes in partnership with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW-www.ifaw.org)

On initial examination, no guard hair was seen in the sample but it felt very soft, like shahtoosh. Since the wildlife inspectors were unsure about the samples, they sent samples to the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in Dehradun for further testing and verification. A preliminary report from WII has certified the gray/ beige wool as shahtoosh. WII will conduct further tests using electron microscopes and DNA tests to substantiate the initial reports.

On examination of the papers accompanying the goods, it was found that they had a certificate from the Singapore Chamber of Commerce stating that the goods were of Chinese origin. Also, WTI-IFAW’s investigators traced the company importing the goods, RND Trading Pvt Ltd, to an address in Lajpat Nagar in south Delhi. The investigator, posing as a seller of old carpets, approached one Mr. Narottam Tuladhar, who was present in the office at that time. Tuladhar stated that he was an employee of the company.

The Customs officials then raided the office and Tuladhar was taken into custody. When the Customs’ officials accosted him, he denied any involvement. WTI-IFAW’s investigator identified the man, who may have otherwise escaped to Nepal.

Mr. Tuladhar is a Nepali citizen and the other proprietors of the company Messers Rajesh Tuladhar, Naresh Tuladhar and Dinesh Tuladhar, are all Nepali citizens too. It is yet to be verified whether Mr. Narottam could be Mr Naresh. The company is a big shawl and wool-trading outfit in Nepal. One of the directors, Mr. Rajesh, is allegedly based in Singapore. It was also found that the company was formed on July 9, 2001, in India. The authenticity of the company is also being verified. Meanwhile, Mr. Narottam Tuladhar has been sent to judicial custody. When his bail petition comes up for hearing, a WTI lawyer will be present to oppose bail.

In the first case, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials seized three bales of shahtoosh wool that had been sent along with three bales of white pashmina. The consignment arrived from Jaigaon on the Nepal border in the eastern Indian state of Bihar by a freight parcel to New Delhi Railway Station. The package arrived on September 26 and weighed 100 kgs. DRI officials had the wool inspected by the wildlife inspectors and by WII. It has been certified that this consignment of 100 kgs is shahtoosh wool.

The person who had sent consignment escaped to Nepal. The addressee in Delhi did not claim the consignment. No arrests have been made in this case, as yet.

Wildlife conservationists are worried that if the consignment actually originated from China, then a new trade route could have opened. “We are very concerned over the possible new trade routes that are opening up. For example, Jaigaon is a new place on the border from where this smuggling operation has been done. Also, we have gathered from our information network that weaving of shahtoosh shawls is on in full swing in many parts of Kashmir,” says Mr. Ashok Kumar, a WTI trustee and head of WTI’s Wild Enforcement programme.

In the past too, WTI has played a crucial role in helping Indian authorities in tracking the illegal trade in shahtoosh, and identifying shahtoosh traders and samples.

For details contact Urvashi Dogra, Communications Manager, Wildlife Trust of India.

Ph:091-11-6326025/26. Fax: 091-11-6326027. e-mail: urvashi@wildlifetrustofindia.org