Probe finds accused’s great-grandfather had smuggled hippo ivory in the 1960s

Shivamogga

: Two more people were were arrested on Friday in connection with the case related to

smuggling

of

hippo ivory

, said Shiivamogga forest mobile squad, headed by DCF Balachandra Hosalli.

Ravi Shankar, chief conservator of forests, said the accused are not professional smugglers. “Following a tip-off, we kept an eye on their activities for a month, and trapped them by posing as buyers,” he said.

Vishal, one of the accused who lived with his grandmother in Goa, had brought old

hippo

ivory, including nine teeth, to Karnataka. Before shifting her house some months ago, the grandmother had handed over the hippo ivory to Vishal asking him to sell it.

The ivory and teeth date back to the 1960s. A joint investigation by Karnataka and Goa forest officials revealed that her father had brought the ivory from Tanzania.

After Vishal approached Anil Pansekar in Goa to sell the ivory and teeth, they were transported to Goa-Karnataka border in July, from where the other three accused — Jakir Khan from Chandragutti in Sorab taluk, Muzafar Hassan from Honnavar and Mohammed Danish from Bhatkal — took them to Karnataka.

All through August, the accused tried looking for buyers, and had also approached many. Ivory, teeth and three vehicles have been recovered from them. All of them have booked under the provisions of Wildlife Protection Act (1972).