Shimla : Police is questioning several men in connection with the seizure of two lorries full of rare pashmina wool close to the Indo-Tibet border in Himachal Pradesh’s tribal district of Kinnaur.
Police say the lorry drivers are local men and say the delivery was being smuggled to Delhi from across the border in Tibet.The pashmina is valued at around Rs 4 crore in the international market.
Pashmina made from the slaughter of the rare pashmina goat on the Tibetan plateau,Kashmir and Iran was internationally banned in 1975 but continues to be manufactured illegally at many places.
Last year a lorry full of 12 tonnes of sander wood was seized by the police in Kinnaur and Indo-Tibet Border Police(ITBP) were said to be involved in the smuggling.
Kinnaur borders the remote and high altitude disputed Tibet region and the posts on the Indian side are manned by ITBP.
In a 20 year career published widely. He has worked for the BBC, AFP, The Statesman, IANS and the Business Standard . Known for his hard hitting writing and occasional off-beat stories. He lives in Shimla.
