Inside India’s biggest tiger poaching syndicate: 100+ big cats killed, digital payments tracked

The impact of such poaching is already visible.

A sophisticated poaching syndicate operating across India has been linked to the killing of at least 100 tigers since 2022, an investigation by The Indian Express has revealed. This network, involving groups from tribal communities in central India, has been using digital payments through hawala transactions and maintaining separate supply routes to Nepal and Myanmar.

The scale of the operation has triggered action from law enforcement agencies across five states, four Central agencies, and Interpol. With over a dozen arrests in five states this year alone, the syndicate’s methods appear to be evolving. Unlike traditional poaching setups that rely on subsistence hunters and small-time smugglers, this network is leaner and more organized. It has minimized middlemen, hired transporters to lower risks, and established connections with narcotics and arms trafficking syndicates.

Authorities in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, along with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), have uncovered one of the network’s “verticals” operating primarily through the Myanmar border. The CBI and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) are following separate leads, while the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been brought in to trace the money trail.

Investigators estimate that payments totaling Rs 7.5-8 crore have been tracked so far, translating to the poaching of around 90 tigers at a rate of Rs 8-12 lakh per animal. Factoring in additional “verticals” still active and a separate Nepal-Tibet supply chain, the total number of tigers lost could be significantly higher, an official told The Indian Express.

For context, only eight of India’s 58 tiger reserves have a population of 100 or more tigers. According to the 2022 national tiger estimation, India has 3,682 tigers in total.

The impact of such poaching is already visible. In Rajasthan’s Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, which was not a primary focus of this investigation, at least 40 tigers have died since Covid. Of these, around 20 deaths were attributed to natural causes, but the fate of the rest remains unknown.

The investigation has also exposed systemic lapses, with authorities relying heavily on periodic tiger census data while anti-poaching efforts weakened. Records suggest that two key syndicate leaders—Sonu Singh Bawaria and Ajeet Siyalal Pardhi—were arrested in 2023 and 2024, respectively, but managed to secure bail and resume operations.

“Once on bail, Ajeet went underground, while Sonu, despite being tracked for months, managed to outmaneuver agencies—sometimes even acting as an informer to take down rivals,” a senior Maharashtra forest official told The Indian Express.

The WCCB, responsible for tackling wildlife crime, continues to maintain an online database of convicted poachers. However, a Central agency officer cautioned that this public record could inadvertently help traffickers by serving as a directory for those looking to establish illegal contracts in different states.

With poaching networks becoming more sophisticated and well-funded, authorities face mounting pressure to tighten enforcement and plug gaps in wildlife protection efforts.