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Mumbai Police Arrest Four in Chembur Hotel Sting Over Elephant Tusks

Investigators probe phones to trace a wider wildlife trade.

Overview

  • Police used informants posing as buyers to set up a meeting at Taj Lodging and Boarding on RC Marg and then raided the room to seize two tusks.
  • Forest officials gave a prima facie identification of genuine ivory, with the tusks weighing about 11 kg and 20.6 kg.
  • All four are in custody after booking under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Wildlife Protection Act, which bans the trade in ivory.
  • Investigators are examining four seized phones and money trails to trace the source and possible links to a wider trafficking network.
  • Police said the group sought about ₹3.5 crore for the tusks, a figure that shows the high black-market value of ivory.