Ajeem Ahamed (65) was on Thursday caught for allegedly carrying seven pieces of elephant tusk worth almost ₹1.3 crore in the clandestine market. He has been sent to 14-day-custody by a court in West Bengal’s Siliguri on Friday.
Ajeem a resident of Assam was arrested from a train at New Jalpaiguri station by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) when he was allegedly trying to smuggle the tusk from Assam to Varanasi.
The seized seven pieces of tusk weighed around 13 kg.
A DRI official said, “The man was arrested and the wildlife items seized after they got specific information.” After the man was apprehended, he was taken to the DRI office here where he and his belongings were thoroughly checked, said Tridip Saha the lawyer representing the DRI. It is believed that the tusk belonged to an elephant that was killed in Assam.