Ivory recovered by DRI on May 26 from Guwahati Railway Station. (DRI Photo)
DIMAPUR, MAY 27 (MExN): Acting on specific intelligence, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Guwahati Zonal Unit intercepted two persons near Guwahati Railway Station and recovered 24 pieces of ivory totally weighing 5.838 Kgs from their possession on May 26, 2018.
A press note issued by the DRI said the interception took place as the recipient of the ivory; Suraj Kr Das hailing from West Bengal was in the process of receiving the package from one Md. Badrul Hussain, hailing from Hojai district of Assam. Suraj Kr Das is a contractual employee of Railways working as a coach attendant of Saraighat Express Train.
Interrogation of the two persons revealed that Md. Badrul Hussain had picked up the package containing ivory from a person at Hojai in Assam and was supposed to deliver it to Suraj Kr. Das who in turn was to deliver the ivory consignment to another person at New Jalpaiguri. The consignment was bound for Nepal through the border townships at North Bengal.
Wildlife officials has confirmed that these tusks have been extracted after killing at least five adult and sub-adult elephants, and since the ivory has been sourced from Hojai it is believed that the elephants were in all likelihood killed in the Karbi Anglong region of Assam, the press note said.
It is a known fact that endangered species are regularly being slaughtered for their parts especially because of the rising demand in the international market. In a recent case, DRI had seized 12.410 Kgs of ivory from a bus at Siliguri on February 15, 2018. In that case too the ivory was sourced from Lakhimpur district of Assam. Further investigation to unearth the masterminds behind the gang of poachers and smugglers of animal parts is in progress, the press note stated.
The DRI said there is an urgent need to step up the fight against wildlife crime, which has environmental, social and economic ramifications, and a concerted effort is the need of the hour.
DRI said it has been regularly seizing wildlife articles such as red sanders, Star Tortoises and other species of turtles, deer antlers and tiger and leopard skins. Anybody can support this crusade by giving information to DRI, which can assist in combating this crime, the press note stated.
