Rs 1 cr elephant tusks, ivory seized, two held

Punjab News Express

KOLKATA: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized Rs 1.03 crore elephant tusks, ivory and sculptures made out of ivory, said an official here on Tuesday.

A father and his daughter has been arrested for attempting to smuggle them out to Nepal via Siliguri.

"Our officers recovered 3 kg elephant tusks worth Rs 30.93 lakh from Sudheesh Chandra Babu and his daughter Amitha SC Babu. Tusks were concealed in the luggage and they did not have any document in support of their possession," a DRI official said.

During preliminary interrogation, the father-daughter duo admitted that the some stock of raw ivory (elephant tusks) and some statues made of some elephant tusks/ivory were procured from Kerala and were ket at their primises.

The DRI officers searched the premises in presence of the accused and officers of the Wild Life Crime Control Bureau and seized 10 sculptures of different idols and parts thereof, two sculpture bases, one packet of jewelleries, nine packets of remnant cut pieces of ivory idols, four packets containing ivory dust and one comb, all made of ivory, with a total value of Rs 72.35 lakh.

DRI officials said Chandra Babu looked after the procurement part while his daughter managed sales and supply of the completed idols.

Chandra Babu was, earlier, arrested in an elephant poaching case in the Thundathil forest range and was absconding for the past four years.

DRI Kolkata has also seized 43 kg elephant tusks and ivory woth Rs 5.99 crore, this financial year.

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Kolkata: Kasba ivory smuggling den raided; woman, dad in net

KOLKATA: The arrest of a father-daughter duo from south Kolkata's Kasba
neighbourhood blew the lid off an ivory smuggling racket with links to
both Kerala in the south and Kathmandu across the border.

The arrested, who hail from Kerala, used to source elephant tusks from
the southern state before engaging sculptors to make statuettes and
jewellery that were then shipped to Nepal. There, the ivory items were
reportedly auctioned to international buyers for crores.

Acting on a tip-off, officers from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence
tracked a sedan that one Sudheesh Chandra Babu had boarded at the
airport after arriving from Kottayam in Kerala. In his baggage were two
elephant tusks. His daughter Amitha, who was at the airport to receive him, was also in the car. A statement issued by DRI said that the total value of ivory/ivory idols and tusks of elephants that were seizure adds up to more than Rs 1 crore.

The DRI team intercepted the car while it was on the way to the Kasba address. The initial search revealed the tusks. Later during interrogation, Sudheesh revealed that he had come to Kolkata four years ago after cops in Kerala started looking for him. He had rented a house in Kasba. His daughter had joined a year later and they had started the business. Sudheesh was accused of poaching an elephant in Idamalayar forest in Kerala.

The ensuing raid on the three-storied house in Kasba led to recovery of various ivory products, including 10 finished sculptures, nine semi-finished ones, a packet of jewellery, a comb and two elephant tusks. While a pair of tusks can fetch around Rs 31 lakh in the illegal market, a sculpture can fetch crores.

During interrogation, the duo revealed that they used to procure elephant tusks from Kerala and store them in the house.

Sculptors and artisans from Kolkata and Baharampore worked in the house, transforming the tusks into works of art.

The finished products were sent to Siliguri from Kolkata and then onward to Nepal via road.

"It is difficult to ascertain the market price of the sculptures as they have very intricate designs. Moreover, some other chemicals and compounds have been mixed with ivory to give the products strength," said a DRI official.

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