Belthangady: 2 ivory smugglers apprehended

Belathangady: Two elephant tusk smugglers were caught by a forest patrol team near Puttur on Tuesday night. Two tusks worth Rs 30 lakhs were recovered from them.

The two smugglers were identified as Dinesha PK, resident of Appalangala near Heravanadu village, Madikeri (33) and Kumara V (37), a resident of Kudaradi village near Nadahalli village of Sakleshpur Taluk.

After receiving a tip-off about elephant tusks being smuggled, Sundar Shetty, Vijaya Suvarna, Udaya and Radhakrishna set a trap and arrested the smugglers.

Movement of elephants in the forests around Puduvettu, Neriya, Didupay and Charmadi has increased ivory smuggling here.