Man arrested for possessing elephant tusks in Mumbai

MUMBAI: A 40-year-old sweeper was arrested from Dadar in central Mumbai for allegedly possessing two elephant tusks collectively worth Rs four lakh, police said.

Acting on a tip off, a trap was laid and the accused Ashok Maru possessing the two elephant tusks was apprehended from outside Shrikrishna hotel near Dadar railway station yesterday evening, police said.

"Maru was carrying a bag consisting of the two tusks with nearly two-feet-long each. He reached the spot to deliver them to a person," Sunil Deshmukh, senior inspector at Matunga Police Station said.

The accused, who is the sweeper in a private building and resident of suburban Kurla, was being interrogated about the buyer, Deshmukh said adding they had some leads in the case.

"He could be the part of larger gang involved in smuggling of tusks. We are trying to go into the roots of the case and unearth the racket," the inspector said.

"The value of the seized tusks could be anything between Rs 10 to 12 lakh in the international market," he said.

The accused was booked under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and remanded in police custody, he said adding that further probe was on.