KOLHAPUR: The Ratnagiri forest department and local crime branch have arrested three people who were allegedly trying to trade a walrus tusk at Hatkhamba in Ratnagiri district. The forest department has seized the walrus tusk
Walrus is a large marine mammal found only in the North Pole region. Priyanka Lagad, the range forest officer of Ratnagiri, said they had received the information about possible illegal trade of marine animals from a source .
“We laid a trap with the help of the local police and arrested three people. Two walrus tusks were seized from the suspects. They have been charged under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972,” she told TOI.
The arrested suspects have been identified as Hemanth Suresh Kandar (38), a resident of Kankavli in Sindhudurg, Rajan Dayal Pange (58), a resident of Malwan in Sindhudurg and, Muhammad Numan Yasin Naik (41), a resident of North Goa. They were arrested on August 31, at 9pm from the Hatkhamba village in Ratnagiri district on the Mumbai-Goa national highway.
The action was taken under chief conservator of forest Kolhapur (territorial) Clement Ben, Ratnagiri police superintendent Mohit Kumar Garg, district forest officer Deepak Khade, assistant conservator of forest Ratnagiri Sachin Nilakh and police inspector Hemanth Kumar Shah. Lagad and other forest guards, forest rangers and police constables with the help of wildlife crime control bureau’s Vijay Nandekar and Satara honorary wildlife warden Rohan Bhate.
