Kathmandu, March 13

The Interpol General Secretariat, France, has congratulated its National Central Bureau in Nepal and India on their joint success in arresting a wildlife trafficker wanted internationally under an Interpol Red Notice.

Lodu Dime, 40, of Bouddha, Kathmandu, was apprehended and brought home from India last week. In 2013, Patan Appellate Court had overturned the decision of District Forest Office, Nuwakot, to give Dime a clean chit and sentenced him to five years in jail, along with a fine of Rs 100,000, in absentia after being convicted of smuggling body parts of tigers.

Dime was found possessing five tiger skins and 114 kg of tiger bones allegedly destined for China on January 12, 2013. The suspect fled Nepal in 2013, triggering a request by the country’s authorities for Interpol to facilitate his arrest.

Interpol’s Executive Director of Police Services Tim Morris said in a press release, “This arrest of an internationally wanted fugitive illustrates how

Interpol’s NCB network is the backbone of international police cooperation. Each of our 192 NCBs serves as a critical gateway to global investigations.”

Interpol’s activities to investigate and disrupt wildlife crime networks operating in Asia, including Operation Prey, fall under its Project Predator. The project aims to enhance law enforcement capacity for the conservation of Asian big cats and is primarily funded by the USAID.

Dime had been arrested following cross border police collaboration between India and Nepal via Interpol channels. It was the publication of the Red Notice which six weeks later triggered the suspect’s detection at New Delhi airport by immigration police during his transit. Once alerted, the NCB in New Delhi informed NCB Kathmandu of the suspect’s intention to travel to Nepal, resulting in Dime’s arrest.

“What we have achieved with the arrest of Lodu Dime is a testament to how police forces in different countries can draw on Interpol resources to share information and coordinate beyond national boundaries to track down fugitives no matter where they hide,” said IGP Prakash Aryal.