Operation Falcon: 42 arrests, gangs busted in Assam’s year-long rhino poaching crackdown

Guwahati, Aug 11: As many as 42 arrests have been made, several gangs with links to international outfits identified and the foiling of multiple poaching attempts have marked the success of ‘Operation Falcon’—a sustained crackdown on rhino killings in Assam—since its launch last year.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma shared the update on Monday through a video clip posted on the popular microblogging website, hailing the operation.

Poachers have been chased, using all available resources, from on-ground to digital intelligence, he said.

“#OperationFalcon – breaking the back of poaching and illegal animal trade,” he said in a post on X, sharing a video on the success of the drive.

"Under the operation, inter-state and international nexus has been identified, six major rhino poaching gangs have been identified linked to illegal trade through Myanmar, and nine rhino poaching attempts have been foiled," the video clip said.

The video mentioned that 'Operation Falcon' is a collaborative effort between the Assam Police and the forest department.

The programme was launched in 2024 against poachers as the killing of two rhinos prompted the authorities to rethink their anti-poaching strategy.

The poachers were chased ruthlessly using all available resources and tracked through extensive use of on-ground and digital intelligence, it said.

Altogether 42 poachers have been arrested across the state – 18 in Biswanath, eight in Darrang, six in Nagaon, five in Karbi Anglong, two in Sonitpur and one each in Udalguri, Dibrugarh and Cachar.

“Operation Falcon will continue till we eliminate poaching from Assam,” the video asserted.

The one-horned rhinos of the state are targeted by poachers for their horns, which are superstitiously believed to possess medicinal or healing values, though scientific studies have shown no truth in such beliefs.

PTI