White rhino horns worth ₹3 cr seized, four held in Delhi

Police made the arrests by sending a decoy customer, following a tip-off about a trade in Lajpat Nagar

Four men were arrested for allegedly possessing and dealing rare white rhinoceros’ horns worth around ₹3 crore in the international market, Delhi Police said on Saturday. One of the accused said the horns belonged to his grandfather and they were in the family’s possession for 90 years.

During questioning, suspect Deepak Sharma said they were a family memorabilia dating back to 90 years and he wanted to sell them due to financial distress. (HT Photo)

Police made the arrests by sending a decoy customer, following a tip-off about a trade in Lajpat Nagar. “A meeting was set up for Thursday to finalise the deal in ₹1 crore,” deputy commissioner of police (crime branch) Sanjay Sain said.

The accused were identified as Deepak Sharma, 57, a resident of Lajpat Nagar, Suresh Kumar, 57, Sant Ram, 57, and Anil Kumar Sethi, 60, all residents of Uttam Nagar.

“Wildlife officers inspected the horns and said that prima facie, these seem to be the horns of rhinoceros usually found in Africa. The recovered two horns of rhinoceros were taken into police possession, and the men were arrested,” DCP Sain said.

Police said that during questioning, Sharma said they were a family memorabilia dating back to 90 years and he wanted to sell them due to financial distress.

According to probe, Sharma contacted Suresh Kumar, who heads an ashram in Uttam Nagar, to sell the horns for ₹1 crore, and promised him an incentive. Suresh Kumar contacted Ram and subsequently Sethi for the sale.

“Anil Kumar further searched for a possible buyer and came in contact with a source who informed the police,” the officer said.

Also known as the square-lipped rhinoceros, white rhinos have a square upper lip with almost no hair. They are endemic to the African subcontinent. Classified as “near threatened” by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the white rhinos are the only of the five rhino species that are not endangered.

According to the WWF, the majority (98.8%) of the southern white rhinos occur in just four countries: South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Kenya.

There are two kinds of white rhinos, of which the northern species are considered “functionally extinct” as there are just two females left of it in Kenya. Southern white rhinos, meanwhile, were thought to be extinct in the late 19th century. But in 1895 a small population of less than 100 was discovered in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa.

After over a century of protection and management, they are now classified as “near threatened” and around 18,000 animals exist in protected areas and private game reserves,” according to a WWF report.

Their population has been reported to be on the rise off late, with the latest numbers suggested there were 17,464 rhinos till 2023-end.

As per the International Rhino Foundation, their increase in numbers from 2012 to 2021, made them the primary target for rhino poachers.