3 men arrested with a pair of tusks

They were said to be part of a network trafficking in wildlife parts

Three persons, said to be part of a network involved in the trafficking of wildlife parts, were arrested with a pair of tusks at Tiruppur late on Saturday.

Veerappan, 65, and Murugan, 45, of Velliangadu near Tiruppur and Avinasiappan, 40, of Avinashi were arrested in a special operation that the Forest Department carried out in co-ordination with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), Chennai. A pair of tusks, cut into four pieces, was recovered from them.

S. Ramasubramanian, Conservator of Forests and Field Director of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR), said the WCCB team had intelligence that some persons were attempting to sell tusks at Tiruppur. S.N. Thejasvi, Deputy Director of ATR (Tiruppur division), formed a team to trace them.

The team, headed by Tiruppur forest range officer S. Senthil Kumar, tried to lure the traffickers by posing as buyers. Though the trio initially asked the team to go to a place near Annur, they changed the location later.

The team cornered them at Velliangadu and arrested them. Two two-wheelers, which the three men used to transport the tusks, were also seized. Veerappan, Murugan and Avinasiappan were produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.

Mr. Ramasubramanian said the pair of tusks appeared to have been extracted from an elephant a few years ago. Samples from the tusks would be collected for a DNA analysis. The results could be used for matching with suspected skeletal remains if they were to be found in future.