City-bound ivory seized in Siliguri

Calcutta: At least six ivory pieces weighing around 9.08kg, worth more than Rs 10 lakh, were seized from two men while they were being allegedly brought to the city from Siliguri late on Wednesday.

Possessing or trading in ivory items is banned in India. A violation of the law can lead to at least three years in jail and a fine of Rs 50,000.

A team of the directorate of revenue intelligence arrested Padum Bahadur Baidya, 40, who hails from Assam, and Kishore Kumar Rai, 45, a resident of Salugara in Jalpaiguri. Officers said they were waiting near the Tenzing Norgay bus stand in Siliguri to hand over the pieces of two elephant tusks to a man from Calcutta.

"We had information that some people had smuggled the ivory from Nepal and were to hand it over to someone from Calcutta, who would transport them to the city. We intercepted the duo and seized the ivory," an officer of the directorate in Calcutta said.

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