MADIKERI: The Kodagu Police have seized Rs 10 crore worth of Ambergris and have arrested ten accused in the case. Kodagu SP K Ramarajan appreciated the efforts of the police in solving the case.
Police received a tip-off about an expensive, illegal consignment being ferried through Kodagu. Similarly, at around 8.30 am, the Virajpet police led by DySP Mahesh Kumar and others stopped two vehicles for an inspection over suspicion. The cops found a very suspicious item in the car that weighed about 10.3 kilos, and it was confirmed that the suspicious item is Ambergris.
“Ambergris is the digestive waste of endangered sperm whales and sale of the same is illegal under the Wildlife Protection Act. During inspection, the police recovered 10.3 kilos of ambergris from ten accused who were travelling in two vehicles,” confirmed SP K Ramarajan during a press conference. The raid was conducted in Betoli Grama Panchayat limits at Heggala Junction in Virajpet. Samples of ambergris have been sent for a laboratory test even as its worth is estimated to be about Rs 10.50 crore.
The arrested accused are all from Kerala, and primary investigations have revealed that the ambergris was obtained by one of the accused from another unknown accused at Thiruvananthapuram.
The main accused in the case, Shamsuddin S (45) of Kerala, is being questioned in the case. Other nine arrested accused include M Navaz (54), VK Latish (53), Rijesh v (40), Prashanth T (52), Raghavendra (48), Balachandra Naik (55), Saju Thomas (58), Jobis kk (33) and Jijesh M (40) from Kerala state.
As per the primary investigation, the ambergris was being shifted to Bengaluru or Andhra Pradesh to be sold to clients. The police have seized 10.3 kilos ambergris, two vehicles and cash counting machines from the accused. The arrested accused have been booked under various sections of the Wildlife Protection Act.