Two held in Manipur for 'smuggling' 24 wild mountain goats from Myanmar

Security forces arrested two persons in Manipur's Tengnoupal district for allegedly smuggling 24 wild mountain goats from Myanmar, police said on Tuesday. Acting on a tip-off, a team of security forces intercepted a four-wheeler at Tengnoupal town and recovered the 24 Ibex (wild mountain goats), a species of mountain goats protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, from the vehicle, a police statement said. The wild mountain goats were smuggled from Myanmar and taken to Pallel, it said. ''The driver and the occupant of the vehicle, who were smuggling the exotic species, have been arrested,'' the statement said. The arrested persons hail from Kakching and Thoubal districts.