Prayagraj (UP), Sep 7 (PTI) Three persons alleged to be part of an interstate gang involved in wildlife smuggling were arrested here on Thursday and 500 parrots of restricted species were recovered from their possession, police said.

Injamam, Mohammad Wasim and Mohammad Arif were arrested on a tip off from the Keedganj area when they were going from Prayagraj to Varanasi, said Navendu Kumar, Deputy SP, Special Task Force.

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The team recovered parrots kept in five cages and a plastic bag, Kumar said, adding that the recovered parrots were handed over to the forest department.

The accused were taking the parrots to Asansol in West Bengal after buying them from Mastan Market in Prayagraj, he said.

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They were booked under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)