MUMBAI, Sept. 21 -- The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), in a joint operation with the Mumbai Customs (Preventive), conducted an inter-state operation and seized a leopard skin on Thursday meant for illicit trade in Chandigarh. It was in the illegal possession of two alleged members of an interstate wildlife trafficking gang, which engaged in leopard skin trading. The operation commenced after the Mumbai Customs (Preventive) received specific intelligence suggesting certain individuals suspected to be members of an organised gang engaged in the trade were allegedly attempting to sell leopard skins at a discreet location in Chandigarh. Mumbai Customs and DRI's Chandigarh Regional Unit, with the help of DRI's Ludhiana Zonal Unit, quickly planned an undercover operation and intercepted the two accused persons in a trap. They had the hide meant for selling at the time, sources familiar with the DRI-Customs operation said. Preliminary questioning of the accused allegedly revealed that they were members of an illicit trafficking network who travelled separately from Rajasthan's Jaipur and Udaipur, to Chandigarh, to deliver the leopard skin from a supplier. The skin is suspected to have been originally sourced from Himachal Pradesh. Leopards (Panthera pardus) are listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, granting them the highest level of legal protection in India. Possession, transportation, or commercial trade in any Schedule I species or its body parts constitutes a punishable offence under the Wildlife (Protection) Act. Leopards are also included under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), Appendix I. Following the seizure of the prohibited article, both the accused were placed under arrest by the DRI team for violations of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The duo was produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate on Friday in Chandigarh, and the case will eventually be investigated further by the concerned Forest Department authorities. It is "worrisome" that several inter-state wildlife trafficking networks are active, resulting in a thriving demand and supply chain, the sources said. Relentless enforcement, especially with inter-agency and intra-agency coordination, can disrupt the supply chain while also creating a fear in the minds of the wildlife traffickers, the sources said. Last month, in a separate operation, DRI's Mumbai Zonal Unit had seized two leopard skins in Odisha and apprehended four suspected members of a wildlife trafficking network in an inter-state operation conducted in coordination with the Mumbai Customs (Preventive). One of the suspects was the alleged mastermind of the wildlife trafficking network, agency sources said. Earlier, in May, in a separate operation, two persons accused of illegal trade of wildlife articles were apprehended by the Nagpur Regional Unit under the Mumbai Zonal Unit of DRI. The agency seized two leopard skins with heads and a boar's horn (also known as 'ivory'). According to DRI, the operation began based on a tip-off about a few traders of wildlife articles. Acting on the information, the DRI team started tracking the suspects' activities and eventually, the two were apprehended at a hotel in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. The accused were later handed over to the District Forest Division in Ujjain for further investigation under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The team subsequently also seized tiger body parts in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh, in July. Earlier in January, Mumbai Zonal Unit's Pune Regional Unit had seized leopard skin in Maharashtra's Akola district and intercepted three individuals in connection with the case....