Huge ivory products haul, one held (India)

After five hours of searching at a residence, the team found a major haul of antiques and ivory products. Image: As originally published by The Times of India

Shantha Thiagarajan, The Times of India | August 11, 2021

A team led by the district forest officer, Nilgiris division, Guru Swamy Dabbala seized a big haul of ivory products, including raw tusks, carved ivory products, bangles, artefacts and elephant bones, on Tuesday from the residence of Nagarajan, 70, in Kotagiri.

Later, Nagarajan was arrested by the team.

According to Shekhar Kumar Niraj, principal chief conservator of forests and the chief wildlife warden, Nagarajan, who is based in Tenkasi, was a suspect in several wildlife cases. Nagarajan has a house in Tenkasi and Kotagiri. However, his main activities were in Kanyakumari.

The seizure on Tuesday was a follow-up of a series of joint searches held in Kanyakumari district by the sleuths of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau(WCCB)-southern region and the forest officials of Kanyakumari forest division on August 8.

Niraj said, “The searches were conducted based on intelligence reports gathered by WCCB-southern region. Several ivory products were seized in Kanyakumari. Three suspects were arrested in this connection on August 8.”

According to him, further searches revealed information on Nagarajan. His premise in Tenkasi was raided, but the sleuths learned that he had fled to the Nilgiris. “His call records and the tower data established his whereabouts in Kotagiri in the Nilgiris,” Niraj said.

He added, “To intensify the investigation, we immediately formed another team in the Nilgiris in consultation with the additional director, WCCB, New Delhi and the regional deputy director, WCCB southern region.”

On Tuesday, after five hours of searching at the residence of Nagarajan in Kotagiri, the team led by Dabbala seized a huge number of antiques.

On interrogation, the illegal trade of ivory products came to light linking the network across Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Kolkata.

“On completion of the interrogation, Nagarajan will be produced before the first-class judicial magistrate under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972,” Niraj said.

The WCCB is also working on the forward linkages leading to Kolkata and different parts of India, while the investigating teams from the forest department in the Nilgiris are perusing documents including bank transaction papers, digital data, and several files seized from the house of Nagarajan.

“I have instructed officials to move an application at the sessions court in Kanyakumari for permission for further interrogation of the offenders,” Niraj said.

Read the original story here.