Overview
- Madhya Pradesh’s State Tiger Strike Force, working with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, arrested Yangchen Lachungpa on December 2 in Lachung, North Sikkim, two months after an Interpol Red Notice was issued at India’s request.
- A Gangtok court on December 3 rejected her bail and granted transit remand to Madhya Pradesh following a medical examination, with further proceedings to be held in Narmadapuram.
- The detention revives a 2015 Satpura Tiger Reserve case that seized tiger bones, skin, bone oil and pangolin scales; 27 of 36 accused were convicted in 2022 while Lachungpa remained absconding after violating bail in 2017 and facing a 2019 warrant.
- Officers recovered a coded diary and mobile phones, which they say could reveal financing routes and international contacts, after alleging she tried to destroy the devices during the raid.
- Authorities describe her as a key link in a transnational network connecting Indian nodes such as Delhi, Siliguri, Kolkata, Kanpur, Itarsi and Hoshangabad to routes through Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan, with Sikkim Police and SSB assisting the arrest and secure transit.