LUCKNOW, Oct. 20 -- In a major operation against illegal wildlife trade, the special task force (STF) of Uttar Pradesh Police arrested two interstate wildlife traffickers from the Bakshi Ka Talab area of Lucknow and recovered 650 endangered and banned parrots being smuggled in a car on Sunday. The arrested accused were identified as Jitendra Singh of Sambhal district and Sanjeev of Moradabad district. According to additional superintendent of police (SP), STF, Satyasen Yadav, the duo was caught around 9:50pm during a joint operation conducted with the Forest Department and local police at Sitapur Road, Outer Ring Road (Kisan Path), Bakshi Ka Talab on Saturday. Acting on a tip-off, the team intercepted a car suspected of carrying protected wildlife. "On searching the vehicle, police found seven cages, four plastic bags, and 650 parrots, including rose-ringed parakeets (Psittacula krameri) and plum-headed parakeets (Psittacula cyanocephala). Of these, 295 were alive while 355 were found dead due to suffocation and mishandling during transit," said ASP Yadav. The special task force also seized three mobile phones, one purse, Aadhaar card, driving licence, a Bank of Baroda RuPay debit card, Rs.5,020 in cash, and the vehicle used for transportation. ASP Yadav added that during interrogation, the accused revealed that the parrots were supplied by one Rajkumar, a resident of Moradabad, and were to be delivered to a man named Rais in Gorakhpur. "Preliminary investigation indicates that the group is part of a larger interstate wildlife trafficking network operating across several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Bihar," said the officer....