Man held with elephant tusks worth Rs 3 crore in Hyderabad

Rachakonda police and Forest officials arrested a man for smuggling elephant tusks worth Rs 3 crore at Hayathnagar. He procured the tusks from Seshachalam forest with an accomplice, who is currently absconding. Both have past links to red sanders smuggling

Hyderabad: The Rachakonda Special Operations Team (SOT), along with Forest department officials, nabbed one person on charges of illegally smuggling and attempting to sell elephant tusks. Two tusks worth Rs 3 crore in the international market were seized at Hayathnagar on Wednesday.

The arrested person, R Prasad (32), a driver from Annamaiah district in Andhra Pradesh, was previously involved in a red sanders smuggling case and was arrested by the Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force (RSASTF) in Tirupati. He was jailed in that case in February.

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According to the police, during his stay in Tirupati sub-jail, Prasad befriended Lokeshwar Reddy, also arrested in a red sanders smuggling case and lodged in the same jail.

“After being released from prison, the duo plotted to sell elephant tusks. They went to the Seshachalam forest and procured two tusks from local Yanadula tribals to sell in Hyderabad,” said G Sudheer Babu, Commissioner of Police, Rachakonda.

They boarded a private bus with the tusks concealed in their luggage and reached LB Nagar on Wednesday morning. Based on a tip-off, the SOT and Forest department officials apprehended Prasad at Hayathnagar. However, Lokeshwar Reddy managed to flee. The tusks were seized, and efforts are on to trace and arrest Reddy.