Aditya Madanpotra, deputy conservator of forests (north division), said, acting on a tip-off, the team -- projecting themselves as prospective buyers -- met the man at Kashmere Gate ISBT around 7am on Friday and caught him with a bag of leopard claws and teeth.

“The seller has been arrested and the parts have been seized,” said Madanpotra.

He said the department is not going to release the price of the animal parts in the illegal market, because the Wildlife (Protection) Act prohibits making such information public.

The Indian leopard has been listed as a vulnerable species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)--an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources-- because of its depleting population. Poaching of the animal for the illegal trade of its skin and other body parts is strictly banned.

Forest officials said such illegal trade and transit has increased over the last few years and teams are often on alert to track such criminals. The operation often involves coordination from forest and wildlife departments from other states as well.

A senior forest department official explained that even though Delhi is not a hub for wildlife-related crimes, it is an important transit point from where poachers and middlemen transport animals, dead and alive, and their body parts.