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Two arrested for smuggling whale vomit in Pune

Dec 08, 2021 08:34 PM IST

PUNE Two men were arrested by the Pimpri-Chinchwad police crime branch Unit 1 officials on Tuesday for smuggling a material believed to be Ambergris, or “whale vomit”, into Pimpri-Chinchwad

PUNE Two men were arrested by the Pimpri-Chinchwad police crime branch Unit 1 officials on Tuesday for smuggling a material believed to be Ambergris, or “whale vomit”, into Pimpri-Chinchwad. One person is on the run in the case.

Two men were arrested by the Pimpri-Chinchwad police crime branch Unit 1 officials on Tuesday for smuggling a material believed to be Ambergris, or “whale vomit”, into Pimpri-Chinchwad. (AFP)
Two men were arrested by the Pimpri-Chinchwad police crime branch Unit 1 officials on Tuesday for smuggling a material believed to be Ambergris, or “whale vomit”, into Pimpri-Chinchwad. (AFP)

The arrested men have been identified as John Sunil Sathe (33), a resident of Magarmala area along Nashik road and Ajit Hukumchand Bagmar (61), a resident of Ravivar Karanja in Nashik, according to police inspector Varsharani Patil of Unit 1 of the Pimpri-Chinchwad crime branch, who is also investigating the case.

The police seized 550 grammes of the substance believed to be whale vomit, that and Bagmar and another unidentified person couriered to Sathe. The estimated cost of the seized material, according to police, is 1.1 crore.

The men are suspected to have been attempting to sell the material. Possession and sale of Ambergris is prohibited under the Wildlife Protection Act.

“After further interrogation about the material, Sathe told us that the material was sourced from Ajit Bagmar and that its sale was slated for tonight (Monday night) and in order to sell it, he had come to the Moshi area of Pune,” read a statement by Unit 1 of the Pimpri-Chinchwad crime branch.

After Sathe’s arrest on Monday, the police team went to Nashik to arrest Bagmar who later told them that a third accused had sent it to him by courier.

A case was registered under Sections 2(16)(c)9, 39, 44, 48(a), 49(b), 57, and 59 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 at MIDC Bhosari police station.

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