KIMATHANKA, DECEMBER 29

Two persons were held with a huge quantity of pangolin scales, an endangered animal, from the Makalu Barun National Park area in Sankhuwasabha district.

The District Police Office Sankhuwasabha said that Tshiring Bhote, 35, of Ridak village from Bhotkhola Rural Municipality-2 in the district and a woman were nabbed for possessing more than 200 kilograms of pangolin scales and other residual parts.

Identity of the woman held there is not made public by the police.

The arrestees would be brought to the district headquarters at Khandbari by this evening and their status would be made public by organizing a news conference, according to the police.

As per the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (NPWC) Act, anyone involved in the trade of protected species may be slapped with a fine up to Rs 100,000 and a jail term of five to 15 years. Pangolin is included in Appendix II of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and falls under protected list in Nepal´s National Park and Wildlife Conservation Act.