Ex-Veerappan aide, others held in Gujarat with 13.9 kg elephant tusk

Amdavad: The Crime Branch of the city police on Sunday arrested four individuals for allegedly possessing an elephant tusk weighing 13.9 kg that they intended to sell for ₹35 lakhs.

According to a Crime Branch statement, the arrest was made after a tip-off, which was confirmed through a dummy customer to whom one of the suspects agreed to sell the tusk.

The accused reportedly claimed to have known the family of the late sandalwood smuggler Veerappan as he had stayed in Tamil Nadu from 1999 to 2006 and could obtain additional tusks.

The two other wanted accused brought the tusk to Ahmedabad from Gir Somnath roughly a month ago, while the four who have been detained were involved in efforts to sell it, the officer added.

The accused have been charged under the Wildlife (Protection) Act and sections 379 and 411 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The tusk has been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for examination. DeshGujarat