BENGALURU: In June, the KG Halli police, who were chasing a drug network, came across a strange object when they caught two persons on the suspicion of selling drugs. The duo turned out to be middlemen and even they were not sure what exactly they were carrying, but only knew that it was precious.
The police took almost a day to conclude that it was ambergris a.k.a. floating gold. Ever since the first such case was cracked in Karnataka, a few more similar cases came to light. On Wednesday, the Chikkajala police arrested four people who were allegedly trying to sell ambergris and have 11 kg of the product valued at Rs 11 crore.
The police had received a tip-off that some people were trying to sell ambergris near Ganganagar Circle on VIT Road. “One of the accused hails from Tamil Nadu, while three others are residents of Bengaluru. We are questioning them to ascertain where they got the product from,” police said. In all the cases, it is found that the accused smuggled ambergris from coastal areas and were trying to make a fortune by selling it, as its price is estimated to be around Rs 1 crore per kg.
Huge demand for ambergris in Europe
Though the smugglers had tried their luck at selling it, the buyer(s) was not identified. A solid waxy substance originating in the intestine of the sperm whale, ambergris is highly prized as it is used as a fixative and ingredient in fine perfumes. It is also used in medicines and is in huge demand in European countries.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Dr Sharanappa S D told TNIE that the first case related to ambergris was traced when the police were after a drug network. “It took us time to confirm that it was ambergris. The arrested middlemen had got it from a Kolar resident, who knew it was precious and had stocked it for a long time. By the time we arrested the duo, the Kolar resident had died due to Covid-19. However, we found out that he had sourced it from Chennai. The middlemen had not yet identified the customer,” he said.
In August, the S J Park police arrested four people and seized 20 kg of ambergris. Investigations revealed that one of the accused was renting huge fishing nets at Malpe in Udupi district. When the fishermen returned, ambergris was stuck to the net and he collected them. “He admitted that he came to know of its value after seeing media reports on the arrest of people for trying to sell ambergris,” a police officer said. The police have booked at least a dozen cases related to ambergris sale over the last three months.
IGP (Forest Cell) K V Sharath Chandra said, “We can’t say there was no smuggling of ambergris earlier. But now, the cases are increasing because of awareness about its value. Smugglers in the coastal belt smuggle ambergris in ships through their network of agents to foreign countries.”