In a dramatic climax to a ten-year international manhunt, one of the world's most elusive wildlife traffickers, Yangchen Lachungpa, was finally captured in the remote Himalayan village of Lachung in north Sikkim. The 43-year-old, wanted by Interpol, was arrested on December 2 after a complex operation that involved navigating not just treacherous terrain but also centuries-old local governance.
A Decade-Long Ghost Chase Ends
For ten years, Yangchen Lachungpa evaded agencies across India and abroad. Investigators described her as moving like a ghost, effortlessly slipping across borders and abandoning safe houses mere hours before raids could be conducted. She is accused of building sophisticated trafficking corridors that connected the tiger reserves of Madhya Pradesh to markets in Nepal, Tibet, and China.
The chase ended in a scenario that veteran officers compared to a film. As the team from the Madhya Pradesh State Tiger Strike Force (STSF) and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) closed in, their radios died and torchlights dimmed in the freezing darkness. They found themselves under the jurisdiction of the Dzumsa, Lachung's 400-year-old self-governing council.
Villagers blocked the only exit, and elected headmen demanded to see all documents. The officers, armed with warrants for a global fugitive, were forced to defend every procedural step in what became an impromptu village trial before they were permitted to detain Yangchen.
The Architect of a Global Smuggling Chain
At the center of this standoff was the woman believed to be the critical architect of a vast multinational smuggling network. Yangchen Lachungpa is the former wife of Jaiy Tamang, 44, who was earlier arrested in Delhi for his alleged role in smuggling pangolin scales. It was Tamang's confession years ago that first exposed Yangchen's pivotal role.
Her arrest marks one of India's most significant breakthroughs in wildlife enforcement. It is also a rare instance of an arrest executed following an Interpol Red Notice, which was issued on October 2, 2025, at India's request. This notice authorized law enforcement in 195 countries to detain her.
Originally from Tibet, Yangchen allegedly built corridors that funneled a range of contraband to international buyers, including:
- Tiger bones and skins
- Pangolin scales
- Red sanders wood
- Shatoosh wool
- Cordyceps fungus
She frequently moved between Delhi and remote hideouts in Sikkim, often vanishing just as surveillance teams closed in.
International Seizures and the Case That Cornered Her
The shadow of her alleged syndicate stretched across continents. In 2013, Nepal Police intercepted five tiger skins and seven sacks of bones headed for Tibet; DNA tests later matched one hide to the Pench tigress known as T-13. In 2015, Ethiopian authorities confiscated eight tiger skins traced back to central India. Investigators say both cases bore the hallmark of Yangchen's network.
The case that finally cornered her began in July 2015 when MP authorities made a major seizure of tiger bones, skin, pangolin scales, and bone oil extract from the Satpura Tiger Reserve. This led the STSF to uncover what they called a "highly structured multinational trafficking chain." While 31 accused were arrested and 27 convicted by 2022, Yangchen, the crucial link connecting poachers to 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 again, prompting authorities to seek Interpol's help.
Following her arrest in Lachung, 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 crucial support in what officers called one of the most culturally delicate and operationally dangerous extractions in recent memory.
Authorities recovered two cellphones and a coded diary that Yangchen allegedly tried to destroy. This diary, containing names, routes, and hawala references, is expected to reveal the network's financial backers and international contacts. Payments were allegedly routed through Kathmandu, Siliguri, and border villages, with suspected stockpiles maintained in the forests of Satpura, Pench, Betul, and Tamia.
A senior enforcement officer stated that this breakthrough finally gives investigators a chance to expose the top tier of global wildlife contraband markets and indicated that more arrests across states and potentially across borders are likely.
