See what ED attached -- chimpanzees, marmosets!!!

Land, buildings, bank accounts, share certificates, jewellery -- these are among properties that Enforcement Directorate (ED) usually attaches to corner suspects in money laundering cases they investigate.

Now the investigators have done the unthinkable -- they have attached three chimpanzees and four marmosets valued at around Rs 81 lakh following investigations into the activities of a suspected wildlife smuggler Supradip Guha in West Bengal.

While the chimpanzee is valued at Rs 25 lakh each while marmoset is valued at Rs 1.5 lakh each.

At present, the chimpanzees and marmosets, which were seized by Customs earlier from the suspect's house were being kept at the Alipore Zoological Garden in Kolkata. The chimpanzees have become a major attraction for visitors and hence, a source of revenue too, the ED says.

The agency took up the investigation against Guha following information from West Bengal's Wildlife Department, which had filed a case against him in a local court on charges of illegal possession of prohibited animals.

State Police had booked Guha for "forgery and using forged documents as genuine as he was found using a forged permission letter to illegally transport the wildlife birds purportedly issued by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, WildLife and Chief Wildlife Warden, West Bengal." He was also found to have allegedly used forged documents to illegally transport wild birds.

According to the ED, Guha is a "clever criminal" who recorded "contradictory statements" before the Customs and wildlife authorities to evade action from both the departments. He even allegedly obtained fake certificates regarding the birth of the three chimpanzees in India

"This attachment has enabled the zoo authorities to keep the animals with them. The action by the ED will deter dealers against indulging in the illegal trade of animals and wildlife," it said.

The first-of-its-kind attachment under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has "enabled" Zoo authorities to retain the animals as the smuggler was making attempts to take them away.