DEOGARH: Deogarh police on Tuesday arrested two persons involved in smuggling of wildlife articles and seized six pieces of elephant tusk weighing around 11 kg from their possession at Gohira Dam IB within Reamal police limits in the district.
The accused have been identified as Pitter Tigga (43) of Dimirikudar village and Fagua Triobans (27) of Bileighati village, both under Tileibani block in the district. Informing about the seizure, Deogarh SP Pramod Rath, on Tuesday said after getting an input about illegal trade of ivory, a 7-member team of Reamal police station laid a trap near Gohira Dam IB.
Subsequently, the two accused reached the spot on two motorcycles with a bag containing the tusks. They were surrounded by the team and upon verification of the bag, six pieces of tusks were found. The duo was arrested.
The seized tusks weighed 11.164 kg and were of 37 to 41 cm length. Apart from the tusks, police seized their motorcycles and mobile phones. “We are investigating further into the matter to ascertain the source from which they had acquired the tusks and other persons involved in the illegal trade of wildlife articles,” the SP said.