Tech-savvy poaching mafia exploits digital payments and hawala, kills over 100 tigers in 3 years

A vast and sophisticated poaching syndicate, spanning five states and operating with the help of transporters, digital payments, and hawala networks, has wiped out over 100 tigers in the past three years, according to an investigation by a national daily.

With a coalition of gangs linked to tribal communities in central India, these new-age poachers are ditching middlemen, leveraging social media, and moving illicit consignments with the precision of organized crime networks. Unlike traditional subsistence hunters, this syndicate is leaner, more mobile, and backed by arms and narcotics traffickers, making it a far more dangerous force.

Over a dozen arrests in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, alongside investigations by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), have pulled back the curtain on a well-oiled machine with international tentacles. The network’s operations stretch from India’s forests to Nepal, Tibet, and Myanmar, with illicit payments of up to ₹8 crore tracked through hawala channels.

The scale of destruction is staggering. For context, only eight of India’s 58 tiger reserves house at least 100 tigers each. The latest national estimate from 2022 put India’s total tiger population at 3,682. The syndicate's activities have raised urgent alarms among conservationists and authorities alike, with officials acknowledging a potential "loss of 100 to any number" of tigers.

Digital age poachers: Tech-savvy, ruthless, and connected

Unlike their predecessors, these poachers are adept at using digital transactions, running bank accounts, and managing logistics with transport services instead of carrying contraband themselves.

“They barely have formal education, yet they navigate digital payments, track shipments, and book flights with ease,” said a source linked to the investigation in Nagpur. Instead of smuggling tiger skins and bones on foot, they book shipments through trusted transporters, retrieve them in Guwahati, and drive to drop-off points in Shillong before the contraband is smuggled through Myanmar’s porous borders.

Authorities believe the network took shape post-COVID when two key figures — Sonu Singh Bawaria from Haryana and Ajeet Pardhi from Madhya Pradesh — teamed up. Sonu, the smooth-talking coordinator, and Ajeet, an expert in jaw traps, created an ecosystem where money flowed through digital channels while goods moved seamlessly across India’s northeastern corridors.

Gaps in enforcement, missed opportunities

Despite heightened surveillance, the system has faltered. Key syndicate leaders such as Sonu Singh and Ajeet Pardhi were arrested but later released on bail, during which poaching activity peaked. “Once on bail, Ajeet vanished from the radar, while Sonu managed to play the system—sometimes even acting as an informer to take down rival poachers,” a senior forest official from Maharashtra said.

Meanwhile, the WCCB — India’s specialized agency to combat wildlife crime—has been operating without a dedicated chief since 2022. Worse, the agency publishes details of convicted poachers on its website, inadvertently providing a roadmap for prospective syndicates.

NTCA (National Tiger Conservation Authority) chief G.S. Bhardwaj acknowledged the threat, stating that a multi-agency Special Investigation Group has been formed and is tracking the case on a day-to-day basis.

Global trade with local roots

The syndicate’s supply chain stretches across India, feeding a multi-billion-dollar global trade in tiger parts, driven largely by demand from China, Vietnam, and Laos. Investigators have traced payments and trafficking links to 13 states, including Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Himachal Pradesh.

The Myanmar route has emerged as a key smuggling corridor, with Guwahati and Shillong serving as transit hubs. Given the ongoing political turmoil in Manipur, traffickers have shifted operations to Mizoram’s Zokhawthar border, which has become the preferred exit point for shipments heading toward China via Myanmar.

Tigers, drugs, and dirty money

As investigators pursued the syndicate’s financial networks, another sinister angle emerged — links to the narcotics trade. A raid in Madhya Pradesh’s Dindori district, where Ajeet Pardhi’s sons were allegedly hiding, led to the seizure of a massive 1,000 kg consignment of ganja, exposing a growing intersection between poaching and drug trafficking.

Authorities believe this dual trade—smuggling wildlife and narcotics—is fueling an underground economy worth millions, with poachers using their earnings for lavish lifestyles, including splurging on luxury goods in Mumbai before sealing their next deal.

Evolving methods, smarter traffickers

In a bid to evade detection, traffickers are now using powdered alum to mask the scent of fresh tiger bones during transport. While traditional smuggling involved dry bones, fresh remains—containing marrow and flesh — fetch higher prices for their use in tiger wine production.

A booming trade in “bone glue,” a gelatinous extract used in Vietnam for arthritis treatments, has also intensified demand. This glue, originally popularized in Thailand, is made by boiling tiger bones with other ingredients, making it a prized commodity in black-market apothecaries.

Two soldiers, Two kingpins

Among those implicated in the syndicate are two military personnel — one retired and one serving—who allegedly used their access and expertise to aid the operation. Lalneisung, a former Assam Regiment soldier, and Kap Lian Mung, an active jawan of the Assam Rifles, are under investigation for facilitating smuggling routes.

Authorities have also identified two key Myanmar-based masterminds operating from Tahan, a trade hub with direct flights to Yangon and Mandalay. Indian agencies, with the help of Interpol, are now working to track and apprehend these individuals.

The road ahead

As enforcement agencies scramble to contain the crisis, the revelation of this high-tech, well-connected poaching mafia underscores an urgent need for better surveillance, inter-agency coordination, and stricter legal deterrents.

With India home to over 70% of the world’s wild tigers, the stakes could not be higher. If unchecked, this sophisticated syndicate threatens to undo decades of conservation success —one tiger at a time.