BANGALORE: The Mahadevapura police on Sunday seized an elephant’s tusk weighing 6.5 kg and arrested three people.
The arrested are Vasu Varma (23) from Bagampalli taluk, Narasimhalu (23) and Reddy Basha (36) from Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh.
Acting on a tip-off, Mahadevapura police intercepted the Tata Sumo in which they were traveling and seized the ivory.
“They are not poachers and claim to have got the tusk from someone in their village. They wanted to make some quick money and were asked to sell the ivory in Bangalore. They came via Kolar and reached the city on Saturday. They were expecting to sell it for anywhere between Rs 15-20 lakh,” police officials said.
Police are now trying to trace the person who gave them the ivory and are also looking into whether the three arrested are habitual offenders.