Assam: Wildlife bureau and forest division arrest 2 for possession of 9 ivory tusks

Nine ivories weighing six kgs were seized in a joint operation conducted by the wildlife crime control bureau and Kamrup forest division, informed the Assam Forest Department. Two people were arrested in connection with the offence.

As per reports, the police shared that as many as 9 elephant tusks were seized from the duo. The arrested smugglers have been identified to be the citizens of Meghalaya - Edison Nongtri and Darishan Nonrum, both hailing from Ribhoi district. They tried to make an unsuccessful attempt to escape and have been handed over to Palashbari police station, informed the police. 

Ivory is used to make jewellery and artefacts, but its trade is considered illegal. The trade of ivory has been severely restricted after the formation of the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). 

Assam: State with the second-most number of Elephants

According to the Elephants Census of 2017-18, Assam has the second-highest number of Elephants (Elephant Tusks being the source of Ivory) in the country, with a total of 5,719 in the north-eastern state. The Government has been running the Project Elephant campaign in the country, among others. One of the objectives of the project is to safeguard elephants and the corridors that connect them.  

Earlier this year, police had similarly caught ivory smugglers in Rajasthan's Jaipur. The offenders were then caught with 35 ivories, which weighed around 30 kg. The accused were banned in a joint operation by the Special Operations Group (SOG) of Rajasthan Police and Wild Life Crime Control Bureau. The names of the accused were Nazuddin Khan, a Sub Inspector posted at Hardoi Police Lines in Uttar Pradesh, Nadir alias Shahrukh Khan, and Gulam Khan.

(With PTI inputs)