Discuss the role of non-forest agencies such as DRI in wildlife protection.

Wildlife crime in India is today less a forest offence and more a transnational smuggling offence. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence's seizure of 86 live Tokay Geckos at Mariani, Assam, in September 2026 [1] shows why agencies outside the forest department have become central to enforcing the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Roles performed by non-forest agencies

• Intelligence-led interception: DRI, under the Ministry of Finance, acted on specific intelligence to intercept two persons carrying Schedule-I, CITES Appendix-II geckos [1].
• Covering the transit gap: the 2022 amendment routes CITES clearance through the Management Authority or customs only at notified ports [3]; consignments moving inland by road, as at Mariani, never reach that check [1].
• Network-busting scale: DRI's coordinated 2026 operations across several cities yielded 440 live animals, about 15 kg of ivory articles and 33 arrests [2].
• Inter-agency synergy: the July 2026 DRI–CBI operation, supported by the WCCB, dismantled an interstate syndicate holding Slow Lorises, Binturongs, Star Tortoises and Egyptian Vultures [2]; WCCB's statutory mandate is precisely intelligence collation and coordination across agencies [4].
• International anchoring: INTERPOL–WCO joint operations similarly place customs and revenue agencies inside global wildlife enforcement [5].

Limitations of this role

• Their core mandate is revenue and smuggling; wildlife detection is incidental, not planned conservation work.
• Post-seizure care is weak: the geckos went to a Range Forest office [1], though the Act contemplates a recognised zoo or rescue centre for seized live specimens [3].
• Seizure numbers reflect enforcement effort, not actual trade volume, and small cases are often closed locally instead of being mapped into networks [2].

Non-forest agencies have thus converted wildlife protection from a territorial forest duty into an intelligence-driven, multi-agency task. Institutionalising this — standing DRI–WCCB–customs protocols, inland access to the Management Authority, and notified rescue centres in the North-East — would align enforcement with India's CITES obligations and the constitutional duty under Article 48A to safeguard wildlife.