The Customs (Preventive), Shillong recovered 27.992kg of illegally smuggled elephant tusk in an anti-poaching operation in Biswanath Chariali, Assam yesterday.
Custom officers launched the operation in collaboration with the Biswanath police and forest authorities based on specific information. The team intercepted one person and recovered four cut pieces of elephant tusks (ivory) of Indian (Asian) Elephant (Elephas maximus).
Elephant tusks are classified under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act (WLPA), 1972. The goods were seized under Section 50 of the WLPA, 1972 (as amended).
With the recent amendments to the Wildlife Protection Act effective from April 1, 2023, customs have been granted enhanced powers to clamp down on the domestic illegal wildlife trade. Leveraging these new provisions, customs officers are proactively engaged in operations to intercept illicitly traded wildlife items.
In the last one year, the Commissionerate of Customs (Preventive), NER has made three seizures of 68.87 kg pangolin scales, 11.536 kg of Ambergris (Whale vomit), 360g elephant tusk as well as seizures of exotic species such as Hornbills, Flame bowerbirds and a baby orangutan, which are protected under CITES as well as the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, in operations at Meghalaya, Mizoram and Assam.
