Joint Operation by Wildlife Crime Control Bureau and MP State Tiger Strike Force leads to arrest of an International Wildlife Criminal wanted on INTERPOL Red Notice
The Madhya Pradesh State Tiger Strike Force (MP STSF), in a coordinated operation with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), has successfully apprehended Ms. Yangchen Lachungpa, an international wildlife offender wanted under an INTERPOL Red Notice. She was arrested on 2nd December 2025 from Lachung in North Sikkim, following sustained intelligence efforts and coordinated ground action.
International Wildlife Offender Arrested After INTERPOL Red Notice
This marks as one of the most significant arrests in the country in which a wildlife criminal has been arrested due to issuance of an INTERPOL Red Notice. The Notice for the accused was obtained recently on 2nd October 2025 by WCCB, in its capacity as INTERPOL Liaison Office. The operation was carried out with full cooperation from Sikkim Police, Forest Department, Judiciary and District Administration, and also received support from SSB in Sikkim and Siliguri for secure transit arrangements, in view of heightened public sentiment.
Following the arrest, the accused was taken to Gangtok for production before the competent court after a mandatory medical examination. After completion of medical tests, she was produced before the court on 3rd December 2025, where her bail plea was rejected, and transit remand to Madhya Pradesh was ordered. Further legal proceedings would now be carried out at Narmadapuram, Madhya Pradesh.
Background of the Case
The Madhya Pradesh Forest Department registered a wildlife crime case on 13th July 2015. It was in Kamti Range, Satpura Tiger Reserve, Hoshangabad (now Narmadapuram). The case involved poaching and illegal trade of tiger body parts. There were also pangolin scales involved. Seizures included 4 pieces of tiger bones and 1.5 kg of pangolin scales. Tiger skin and tiger bone oil extract were also seized. Another main accused in the case, Mr. Jai Tamang, arrested in October 2015, confessed that he supplied wildlife contraband to Ms. Lachungpa, who also provided him shelter. His confession firmly established her role in the trafficking chain.
Wildlife Crime Fugitive Nabbed After Years on the Run
Thirty-six individuals were named in the case. Narmadapuram’s Chief Judicial Magistrate convicted 27 of them on 20th December 2022. However, proceedings against Ms. Lachungpa could not take place as she was absconding. A resident of Lachung/Gangtok, Sikkim, she was identified as a key member of an organised trafficking network. This network has links from poachers and middlemen to transboundary illegal wildlife trade routes. These routes span Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan. It operates across multiple Indian cities, including Delhi, Siliguri, Gangtok, Kolkata, Kanpur, Itarsi and Hoshangabad.
Ms. Lachungpa was briefly apprehended in September 2017 by MP STSF. She violated her bail conditions and absconded. This led to an arrest warrant on 29th July 2019. WCCB took action due to her continued evasion. They sought an INTERPOL Red Notice through the CBI. The CBI is India’s National Central Bureau (NCB) for INTERPOL, handling Red Notices for all crimes, including wildlife offenses. The Notice was issued for Ms. Lachungpa on 2nd October 2025 as a ‘fugitive wanted for prosecution’, leading to her arrest on 2nd December 2025. The accused is considered a significant relay point in transnational trafficking of wildlife contraband, especially tiger parts. Further investigation is expected to provide critical insights into both backward and forward linkages of the trafficking network.
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