The Kanakapura police arrested a 29-year-old man who was allegedly trying to sell a pair of elephant tusks weighing 25kg. The seized tusks have been handed over to the Forest Department, said the police.
The arrested man has been identified as Mariswamy, who hails from Chamarajanagar. A senior police officer said that after receiving a tip-off, the police caught Mariswamy near Ramanagaram around 4.30 a.m. on Sunday when he arrived to sell the two tusks.
“Forest Department officials received a message about Mariswamy’s activities and alerted the police. We caught him while he was waiting for a buyer from Nelamangala,” said a police officer.
The police suspect that he is part of a gang of poachers who kill elephants and other animals whose pelts and tusks are coveted by buyers. Mariswamy was booked under various sections of the Wildlife Act. “We have taken him into custody and are identifying his associates and his network,” the police officer added.
Though he claimed that it was his first time, the police suspect that he is a habitual offender.
