Officers with those arrested and the tusks seized
Idukki : Four people were arrested with two pairs of elephant tusks while allegedly attempting to smuggle them from Tamil Nadu to Keralam. Those arrested are Krishnaprabhu, Anamaraj, Vasudevan and Vijayan, all natives of Tamil Nadu. Two luxury cars used to transport the tusks were also seized by forest officials near the Keralam-Tamil Nadu border, close to Cumbum in Tamil Nadu, on Tuesday morning.
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The tusks were found concealed in two luxury cars during a detailed inspection of the vehicles, officials said. The accused allegedly told investigators that they planned to transport the tusks to Keralam for sale, according to forest department sources. Forest officials conducted vehicle checks on the Cumbum bypass road acting on a tip-off received by the Cumbum West forest range officer. Officials are investigating the source of the tusks and the identity of the intended buyers in Keralam. They are also probing whether more people were involved in the racket and whether the alleged smuggling operation had interstate links. Download the TOI App.