Mumbai man arrested for possessing Rs. 1.7 crore-worth whale vomit: Cops

A 53-year-old man who h come to sell 1.3 kg of ambergris -- or whale vomit -- worth Rs. 1.7 crore was arrested in Mumbai, police on Tuesday. Ambergris is a waxy substance that originates as a secretion in intestines of sperm whale, found floating in tropical seas and used in perfume manufacture.

Acting on a tip-off, a joint team of police and forest department officials laid a trap on Saturday in Cama Lane of suburban Vidyavihar area and arrested Rahul Dupare, police said.

"We seized 1.3 kg of ambergris, worth Rs. 1.7 crore, from him. It is a prohibited item. We have registered a case under relevant sections of Wildlife Protection Act and have arrested Dupare," a police official said.

sperm whale is an endangered species protected under Wildlife Act.

Ambergris is soluble in alcohol, chloroform, er and certain volatile and fixed oils.

VISUALS: Endangered Animal Skins And Trophies Among Shocking Recoveries From I-T Raids In Bhopal

Earlier on April 09, 2019 , I-T department has recovered hides and skins of endangered species such as Black buck, Sambar deer, Chital (spotted dear) and ors, to d to massive unaccounted cash trail information that was uneard.

Republic TV has accessed visuals of I-T department's animal-hide seizures as well as illegal weapons while raiding residence of Ashwin Sharma, an associate of Praveen Kakkar (OSD to Mhya Presh CM Kamal Nath) in Bhopal. 

Following development, a team from  Forest department has been called to take cognizance of event. Sources said that team from forest department will investigate matter to find out if he has bought se items from elsewhere or is it a poaching racket.