6-member gang arrested for bid to sell elephant tusks in Coimbatore
The forest department officials got information that the gang had been going around in a car in the Veerapandi area near Coimbatore
Accused with the forest department officials
COIMBATORE: The Forest Department has arrested a six-member gang including a woman for an attempt to sell tusks in Coimbatore.
Based on information that a gang was attempting to sell tusks, the Coimbatore District Forest Officer (DFO) formed two special teams to trace them.
The forest department officials got information that the gang had been going around in a car in the Veerapandi area near Coimbatore. After this, the officials intercepted and arrested the culprits on Friday.
The accused persons were identified as Sarvesh Babu, 46, from Keeranatham, Loganathan, 38, from Vellalore, Vignesh, 31, from Idayarpalayam, Arul Arokkiyam, 42, from Nagamanaickenpalayam, Balamurugan, 34, and Sangeetha, 41, from Gudalur.
The investigations revealed that they had brokered a deal with a person in Coimbatore to sell tusks. However, no ivory was seized from them, the department sources said. All the accused were produced before the Judicial Magistrate Court and lodged in the Coimbatore Central Prison.
“An official said the accused will be taken into custody to seize the hidden tusks. They will be questioned how they got the tusks in their possession and if they were part of a larger network,” said an official.
This incident comes close on the heels of the arrest of a 53-year-old-man from Karnataka in Thalavady in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) in Erode for gunning down an elephant and extracting the tusks to be traded in the illegal wildlife market. A pair of tusks was recovered from his possession last week.