Five held with tusk, rhino horn worth lakhs in Bengal

Five people have been arrested in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district after elephant tusk and rhino horn worth over Rs 30 lakh were recovered from them, an official said on Tuesday.

The arrests and the seizure were made on Monday night from the Malbazar area of the district in a joint operation by forest officials and police.

“We have arrested five people and seized five kg of elephant tusk and around 150 gram of rhino horn. The seized material is valued at over Rs 30 lakh,” Baikunthapur forest division ranger Sanjay Dutta said.

All the five accused are residents of the area and forest officials suspect them to be part of a gang involved in smuggling animal parts.