NEW DELHI: The ivory stock seized by the State Forest Department from New Delhi was brought back to Kerala on Monday. Officials said the ivory artefacts and elephant tusks, sealed in 39 cartons, were brought by a SpiceJet flight via Pune and taken to the Malayattoor Forest Division office in a special vehicle. Surendra Ravath, a close aide of the Delhi-based ivory trader Umesh Agarwal, was also brought to Kochi by the same flight.
Worth Rs.12 crore
Officials said the ivory stock, weighing about 487 kilograms and worth around Rs.12 crore, will be produced in First Class Judicial Magistrate Court at Kothamangalam on Tuesday, after preparing a detailed inventory.
The investigation team was led by Chief Conservator of Forests Amit Malik and comprised Range Officers Manu, Jyothis and Sathyan.
Of the total 487 kg of ivory, about 400 kg was suspected to be sourced from Kerala alone while the rest of the contraband was from north Indian States. “Ravath was responsible for the safe-keeping of the ivory artefacts brought by Agarwal to Delhi. The racket used to smuggle ivory not just from Kerala but also West Bengal and other north Indian States,” said a senior Forest official.
Officials said the Department would seek legal opinion on how to move ahead with the case, as there was ambiguity on aspects such as who would pursue the case against the end customers. They would explore the possibility of coordinating with the Forest Departments of other States to trace the remaining accused in the case.