The Kolkata police team that has landed in Pune a few days ago in search of a city-based Anglo-Indian animal trader, who is considered the kingpin of the animal trafficking case that came to light in Kolkata, has failed to make any progress so far.

A senior police official from the Pune police told this to The Indian Express on Wednesday.

He said, “So far, the Kolkata police have arrested two persons in connection with the case. But we are in search of one more co-accused in this case. But, we have not made much progress in this case so far.”

He said that the police have already seized all the animals that had been smuggled out. Eight marmosets were reportedly stolen from zoo on August 8. The Pune-based dealer used to deal in exotic birds but recently received a lucrative order to supply marmosets, which made him interested in the animals. He had given Rajesh alias Sher Singh the job of stealing the marmosets from Kolkata.

The Pune-based animal trader had masterminded the theft of at least 50 rare and exotic birds and marmosets from four zoos and the homes of private collectors over the past three years.

The police officer said, “At present, two police officials of the Kolkata police are still in Pune on a lookout. We do not even wish to publicise his name, lest becomes all the more difficult to catch the culprit. But we have also searched him residence in this connection and enquired his wife and son in this connection,”

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