Bhubaneswar, October 27: One elephant tusk was seized during a joint raid by Special Task Force (STF) of the Odisha Crime Branch and Angul Forest Division officials while the smuggler – Sudar Nayak of Hatasiunali village in Ranibandha area under Thakurgarh police station in Angul district was arrested while striking the deal.
Acting on a tip off about a deal of sale of elephant tusk, the STF with the help of Angul forest officials conducted a raid near Antulia on Tuesday and nabbed Sudar Naik. During the search, one elephant tusk and other incriminating materials were seized from his possession.
“The accused person could not produce any valid authority in support of possession of elephant tusk, for which he has been detained and handed over to forest officials for necessary legal action at their end. Investigation is on,” said the STF statement.
Since the special drive against wildlife criminals and poachers launched, STF has seized as many as 18 leopard skins, 10 elephant tusks, two deer skins, five live pangolins and 15 kg pangolin scales and arrested 37 wild life criminals, it said.
