Dindigul: In a two-day disguise operation, the Ministry of Forestry personnel in Tamil Nadu Kodaikanal, along with protection and wings of vigilance from Chennai, arrested nine people and won the two small fangs they tried to sell to prospective buyers.
A pair of fangs measured in length of 52 cm, 15 cm and weighed 1.89 kg (0.97 and 0.92 kg respectively).
Introductory investigations reveal that small noise belongs to sub-adult elephants and it can be taken from the carcass at least a decade ago.
Spilling reached the person arrested after being forwarded to various people for years.
Tusks will be sent to the Central Institute of Wildlife Conservation (AIWC), Chennai for analysis.
The District Forest Officer (DFO) for the Kodaikanal Forest Division, PK Philip, said that the operation was carried out based on a tip-off received by the head of the warden of wildlife.
“Posing as a prospective buyer, our team started the operation in early Saturday and arrested them on Sunday morning,” he said.
It was decided that the seller would show the ivory that they had to prospective buyers near the Tasmac outlet in Devadhanapi in Periakulam to Jalan Batlagundu in the early hours of the Sunday to check whether the milling was original or fake before they could decide to buy it.
One of the accused of Chinnaraj (29) brought two ivory in travel bags while nine others were with him when the forestry department team surrounded and arrested them.
While nine of them were arrested, the search was for R Suresh from Devadhanapti in Theni who managed to escape with two-wheeled vehicles.
People who were arrested were identified as Prakash (29), R Balamurugan (35), Packiyarasu (30), K Muthaya (57) and M Sarathkumar (30) All of Periyakulam in Themia District, A Vijayakumar (60) from Unjampatti Theni Regency , C Chinnaraj (29), V Sivakumar (42) and Abdulla (34) All of the USILAmpatti in Madurai Regency.
The two two-wheeled and cellphones used by the defendant were also confiscated.
The defendant’s telephone will experience search to identify those who help them get fangs and their prospective buyers.
They were ordered under section