Out on bail, wildlife trafficker Shafiqul arrested again in Ctg with 6 parrots, one hornbill

A man previously arrested over wildlife trafficking has been arrested again in Chattogram after Forest Department officials rescued six green parrots and a Pakra hornbill from his rented flat during a late-night raid.

The Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division of the Chattogram Forest Department carried out the operation at around 11pm yesterday (24 July) at a fourth-floor apartment in the Haddi Company area of Bepari Para under Double Mooring Police Station.

The raid was conducted with support from Nature Conservation Alliance (NCA) Bangladesh.

Confirming the operation, Wildlife Ranger Mohammad Lutfor Parvez told The Business Standard that officials acted on confidential information.

“We conducted the raid at Shafiqul’s residence based on a tip-off. We did not know how many birds were inside before entering. We recovered six green parrots and a Pakra hornbill from the flat and arrested him,” he said.

Parvez said Shafiqul had been taken to the Forest Department office, where a case would be filed against him under the Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act, 2012. He was later produced before a court today (25 July).

According to the Forest Department, Shafiqul had previously been arrested in connection with wildlife trafficking but allegedly resumed the illegal trade after being released on bail.

Parvez said investigators had found evidence on the suspect’s mobile phone indicating communication with wildlife traffickers operating across different parts of the country.

Authorities are now investigating those links in an effort to identify the wider trafficking network.

During questioning, the Forest Department also found alleged connections between Shafiqul and several identified wildlife traffickers, including suspected international traffickers Hadisur Rahman and Juglu, he added.

The rescued six green parrots and the Pakra hornbill have been placed in quarantine under the Forest Department’s supervision. They will be transferred to an appropriate conservation facility following the completion of legal proceedings and in accordance with court directives.

Forest Department records identify Shafiqul Islam, 33, as a resident of Dhulia Union in Bauphal upazila of Patuakhali district. He has been living for several years in a rented house near Hajipara in Chattogram’s Agrabad area, where authorities allege he became involved in the wildlife trafficking network.

The latest arrest comes more than two months after a previous operation on 18 May, when Chattogram Metropolitan Detective Branch (DB) Police rescued a spectacled langur from the Ambassador residential hotel in the city’s GEC area following information provided by wildlife conservation volunteers.

Conservationists alleged that after several rounds of bargaining, Shafiqul had offered to sell the monkey for Tk51,000. Volunteers posing as buyers arranged to receive the animal at the hotel before informing DB Police, who arrested him during the handover and rescued the animal.

Following that arrest, conservationists claimed they searched his rented flat and found evidence of wildlife captivity and trading, including two hill mynas, one spotted dove, six green parrot chicks, seven adult green parrots, seven Madna parrot chicks and three adult Madna parrots. However, the animals were not seized at the time.

Wildlife conservationists alleged that after securing bail in that case, Shafiqul resumed wildlife trafficking activities.

In the latest operation, conducted with assistance from NCA Bangladesh, the Forest Department’s Wildlife Crime Control Unit rescued six green parrots and one Pakra hornbill from his residence before arresting him again.

Siddiqur Rahman Rabby, an organiser of NCA Bangladesh, told The Business Standard that Shafiqul had been involved in wildlife trafficking for the past four to five years.

“Although he entered the trade relatively recently, he has quickly built a strong network with wildlife traffickers across different parts of the country,” he said.