Gujarat authorities arrest three in pangolin smuggling ring after rescuing protected animal.

Gujarat police and forest officials dismantled a major pangolin smuggling ring in Rajkot, arresting three suspects including Bijal Solanki, after intercepting an attempt to sell a protected pangolin valued at up to Rs 22 crore. The animal was rescued from a farm near Ghantwad forest based on intelligence and digital evidence from a suspect’s phone. The court granted a four-day remand for further investigation into the trafficking network. This marks the first major joint operation between police and forest departments in Gujarat to combat wildlife crime. Pangolins, the world’s most trafficked mammals, are illegally hunted for their scales, which are falsely believed to have medicinal properties, threatening their survival and ecosystems.