In a dramatic climax to a decade-long international manhunt, one of the world's most elusive wildlife traffickers, Yangchen Lachungpa, was finally arrested in the remote Himalayan village of Lachung in north Sikkim. The 43-year-old, wanted by Interpol, was apprehended on December 2 by a joint team of the Madhya Pradesh State Tiger Strike Force (STSF) and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB).
A Decade-Long Pursuit Ends in a Himalayan Standoff
For ten years, law enforcement agencies across India and abroad hunted Yangchen Lachungpa, a woman described by investigators as moving "like a ghost." She was known for slipping across borders, abandoning safe houses hours before raids, and allegedly building sophisticated trafficking corridors. These corridors connected tiger reserves in Madhya Pradesh to international markets in Nepal, Tibet, and China.
The final operation played out like a scene from a thriller. As the team closed in near the India-China border, their radios died and torchlights dimmed in the freezing darkness. They found themselves under the authority of the Dzumsa, Lachung's centuries-old self-governing council. Villagers blocked the only exit, and elected headmen demanded to see proper documents and warrants.
"It was part standoff, part village trial, part global crime bust. We had an Interpol fugitive sitting in front of us, but first, we had to convince a 400-year-old council that Indian law applied," recounted one investigator involved in the operation.
The Architect of a Global Smuggling Chain
Yangchen Lachungpa is believed to be the critical architect of a vast multinational wildlife smuggling network. Her role was first exposed years earlier through the confession of her former husband, 44-year-old Jaiy Tamang, who was arrested in Delhi for smuggling pangolin scales.
Originally from Tibet, Yangchen allegedly built corridors that funneled a shocking array of contraband to international buyers, including:
- Tiger bones and skins
- Pangolin scales
- Red sanders wood
- Shatoosh wool
- Cordyceps fungus
Her network's signature was found in major international seizures. In 2013, Nepal Police intercepted five tiger skins and bones headed to Tibet; DNA matched one hide to the famous Pench tigress T-13. In 2015, Ethiopian authorities seized eight tiger skins traced back to central India.
The Case That Cornered Her and What Comes Next
The investigation that ultimately led to her downfall began in July 2015 when MP authorities made a major seizure of tiger bones, skin, and pangolin scales from the Satpura Tiger Reserve. This uncovered a "highly structured multinational trafficking chain." While 31 accused were arrested and 27 convicted by 2022, Yangchen, the crucial link between poachers and international buyers, remained free.
She was briefly arrested in September 2017 but fled after obtaining interim bail. After her anticipatory bail was rejected in 2019, she disappeared, prompting Indian authorities to seek an Interpol Red Notice. The notice was issued on October 2, 2025, authorizing 195 countries to detain her.
During her arrest in Lachung, Yangchen allegedly tried to destroy two cellphones and a coded diary containing names, routes, and hawala references. This diary is now a key piece of evidence expected to reveal the network's financial backers and international contacts. Payments in the syndicate were allegedly routed through Kathmandu, Siliguri, and border villages, with stockpiles maintained in Satpura, Pench, Betul, and Tamia forests.
Following her arrest, Yangchen was taken to Gangtok for a medical exam and produced in court on December 3, where MP authorities secured transit remand. Sikkim Police provided critical support in what officers called a culturally delicate and operationally dangerous extraction.
A senior enforcement officer stated that this breakthrough "finally gives investigators a chance to expose the top tier of global wildlife contraband markets," hinting that more arrests across states and potentially across borders are likely. The arrest marks one of India's most significant wildlife enforcement victories and a rare successful execution of an Interpol Red Notice.
