Elephant tusk smuggled from Karnataka seized in Kerala’s Wayanad district, six arrested

Kerala Forest dept. officials seized 5.5 kg elephant tusk worth ₹1.5 crore & arrested 6 people in Mananthavady, Wayanad, Kerala. Three accused brought tusk from Karnataka, three were middlemen. Following tip-off, dept. raided hotel & seized tusk. Accused to be produced in court.

Six persons were arrested and an elephant tusk weighing 5.5 kg and estimated to be worth about ₹1.5 crore was seized by Forest department officials at Mananthavady in Wayanad district of Kerala on November 4 morning.

The arrested were identified as Raju, 52, of Gonikkoppal, Philip Mathew, 68, of Ponnampet, Gepp, 60 of Shettygiri in Karnataka and Sudheesh, 36, Justin Joseph, 24, and Yeldo, 30, of Vakery in Wayanad.

The first three accused, Raju, Philip Mathew and Gepp, brought the tusk from Karnataka for sale, and Sudheesh, Justin Joseph and Yeldo were the middlemen, Forest department sources said.

Following a tip-off, a team from the department raided a hotel at Mananthavady where the accused stayed, following which the tusk was seized. The accused were set to be produced before the First Class Judicial Magistrate Court at Mananthavady on November 4 evening, the sources said.