At 10 pm on Sunday, the RFO and his team were patrolling near fields at Sao Jose de Areal when they spotted Muktiar Shaikh (32) and José Silva (35) with seven frogs. Both were arrested under the Wildlife Protection Act.
At 11 pm, Soccorro Fernandes was arrested at Layamati Spring, Davorlim with 11 frogs.
At 4 am, the team found two men, Angelo Silva (27) and Godfrey Silva (22) walking by a canal near Gudi Paroda (near Margao Industrial Estate). In fear, the duo threw the bag, containing seven frogs, into the canal. They were soon arrested.
Four poaching cases have come up since the monsoons began. In 10 days, more than six men have been arrested and more than 35 frogs were rescued. Kalil Shaikh, arrested with five frogs in one case, is suspected to be a trader of frog meat. He and Soccoro are in police remand for four days.
Sadly, Salcete range has only five staff members. Two members of Wildlife Rescue Squad and one trainee RFO are running the show in Salcete presently. This time, the department will go ahead with court cases and get the poachers jailed to deter further attempts to poach frogs.
