DRI seizes elephant tusk worth over Rs 1 crore

An elephant tusk worth over Rs 1 crore has been seized by DRI officials from Siliguri, according to an official statement issued today. Based on specific intelligence input that an elephant tusk would be carried from Assam to Siliguri on a private bus for smuggling to Nepal, officers of DRI intercepted the vehicle in the Mallaguri area in the early hours of Thursday. A rucksack was found under the driver's seat when the bus was searched.
"The rucksack was packed with old and used clothes on the top and underneath the clothes, three pieces of an elephant tusk were kept concealed in packed condition," it said. The tusk, weighing 12.4 kg, has a total length of 0.86 metre and a girth of 0.36 metre. It had been cut into three pieces for ease of packaging and transportation, the statement read. "The two drivers of the vehicle confessed to carrying the elephant tusk at the behest of one person, a resident of Kolkata, for smuggling into Nepal," it read. The elephant tusk, worth over Rs 1 crore in the international market, was seized and the drivers were arrested for smuggling of wildlife parts. Preliminary investigations revealed that the elephant was poached in the forested areas of Arunachal Pradesh or Assam 5-6 months ago, it read. "There is an urgent need to step up the fight against wildlife crimes, which has environmental, social and economic impact and a concerted effort is needed by all the law enforcement agencies in combating the same," the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) said. The DRI is committed to combating wildlife crimes, including cross-border crimes. "The DRI has been regularly making seizures of wildlife articles such as red sanders wood, a CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) listed species of timber, highly valued in the markets of China and East Asia, star tortoises and other species of turtles, deer antlers, tiger and leopard skins," it said.