A network of wildlife crime has been busted in the joint action of the Special Operations Team (SOT) of Hyderabad and Hayanagar Forest Department. Police raided LB Nagar area and seized ivory worth Rs 3 crore. This action was taken on the basis of intelligence information, in which two accused have been arrested.
Police Commissioner Sudhir Babu said that the SOT team had received information that some people are trying to sell ivory in LB Nagar area. After this, the police raided by laying a trap and caught the accused red handed. The seized ivory was hidden in a TV cover. The accused rode in a private bus and brought ivory from Seshachalam forests of Andhra Pradesh to Hyderabad.
Police investigation has revealed that the arrested accused have been involved in the smuggling of red sanders (red sandalwood) earlier. He has been jailed in this case in the past. After being released from jail, he adopted a new path of wildlife smuggling and now engaged in smuggling ivory.
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The price of seized ivory in the international market has been estimated at around Rs 3 crore. The police is now searching for other people associated with this network and carrying forward the investigation. A case has been registered against the accused under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, as well as their mobile data and connectivity are being investigated, so that it can be found out who else is involved in this smuggling.