Two men arrested with deer horn worth Rs 2 crore

CHENNAI: Police have busted a racket dealing in antlers (deer horn), by arresting two persons in Tiruvallur, 45km from Chennai on Friday.
Police have seized 20 tonnes of antlers worth Rs 2 crore from them.
The accused, D Subramani (45) of Tiruvallur, has been exporting cutlery handles and coat buttons made of antler, under a firm called Bhagya Rekha Exports at Aranvoyal near Sevvapet since 1991.
Police also arrested the supervisor of the company, S Kothandam (45) of Tiruvallur.
Acting on a tip-off, police teams led by Tiruvallur superintendent of police Rubesh Kumar Meena, Tiruvallur town assistant police commissioner B Balachandran and Sevvapet police inspector Purushothaman raided the company and its godown in Aranvoyal on Thursday night.
During inquiries, police learned that Subramani, who has been manufacturing coat buttons, forks and spoon handles using antlers, didn’t get his license renewed after September 2009. Police said, Subramani had procured the antlers illegally from forests in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.
"Subramani got the consignments by road after collecting it with the help of some villagers in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka,” a police officer said. Subramani has installed several lathes and other equipment to manufacture these items which he has been exporting. Subramani and Kothandam were produced before a magistrate in Tiruvallur and lodged in prison.