The Thane Police Crime Branch has arrested three people with two rare substances which are in high demand in the black market.
Officials said that the collective value of the seized goods is over ₹20 crore and the accused are suspected to be linked to an international racket. The Thane Crime Branch’s Unit I made the seizure based on a tip-off.
Deepak Deoraj, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Thane Crime Branch, said, “Acting on the information, our personnel laid a trap in Kalwa and picked up the three suspects. A search of the bags revealed scales of Pangolin, an endangered animal, weighing six kilograms, and ambergris, a secretion derived from the intestines of the Sperm Whale, weighing over 10 kilograms.”
The accused have been identified as Kashinath Pawar (50), Dilip Birje (49) and Dnyaneshwar More (40) and charged under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
Pangolin scales have several medicinal qualities and are used for treating a variety of ailments, including skin diseases and spinal problems, which has led the animal to become endangered. The purchase and sale of its scales are banned in several countries, officials said.
An officer who is part of the investigation said, “We are investigating if Pangolin scales are banned in India as well. Initial inquiries indicate the accused were part of a larger racket that procures the scales and routes them through India before smuggling them to China, where it is widely used in traditional medicine.”
International racket
The officer added, “We are interrogating the accused and mapping their movements through their cell phones. We are going through their Call Detail Records to find out about the source and intended recipients of the contraband.”
Last month, the Guangdong police in China seized 7.26 tonnes of Pangolin scales, which were allegedly smuggled into a south China port. The scales were seized after customs officials noticed that the declared weight of the frieght container, which proclaimed its contents to be granite, did not match its actual weight and opened it up for inspection.
Ambergris is much sought after as it helps produce a rare fragrance, making it a hit in the perfume industry. Several countries, including India, have banned its trafficking, and declared the Sperm Whale a protected species, officers said.