Pramesh Jain
The Special Inquiry Squad wing of Central Crime Branch (CCB) police on Tuesday arrested a gang of five who were allegedly attempting to smuggle sperm whale ambergris worth Rs. 80 Crore.
The five accused has been identified as,Majeeb Pasha,48, Mohammed Munna, 45, Gulab Chand, 40, and Santosh, 31, all residents of Bengaluru. The fifth gang member, Jagannathachar, 52, is a resident of Raichur.
Ambergris,produced in the digestive system of sperm whales and often called floating gold,is extremely rare,commanding exorbitant rates as it is used in the fragrance industry.
Commissioner of police Kamal Pant addressing media in the presence of Joint CP Crime, Sandeep Patil,said the CCB special inquiry Squad team on Sunday,received credible information that the accused who had smuggled Ambergris worth crores,were trying to sell it in RMK Enterprise in Bagalagunte police station limits.
Following this information, a team led by DCP Crime-1 KP Ravikumar, ACP, Hanumantharaya and team swung into action and conducted a raid and after conducting a search the team found huge quantity of Ambergris as floating gold or whale vomit in their possession.
The team nabbed the five member gang and seized 80 kg of ambergris from the accused.
A detailed investigation by the team it has revealed that they procured the ambergris from their sources in Mangaluru and were trying to sell it to their customers in the city but landed in CCB police net.
Along with the ambergris,the CCB team also seized two antique items from the gang a steam fan with the label of East India Company dating back to 1818 and two red mercury copper cups also from the East India Company.
Senior police officials have raised concerns over the smuggling of ambergris.In June this year,KG Halli police had arrested four people for selling 6.7 kg of ambergris, valued at Rs. 8 crore.
Ambergris is used in high end perfumes.It is brownish in colour,and has a solid and waxy substance.All the five accused has been arrested and booked under wildlife Act.As sperm whales come under Schedule 2 of the Wildlife Protection Act, it is illegal to possess or trade in any of its by-products in the country, said the CCB and further investigation is on.
Finally Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant has appreciated Joint CP Crime, Sandeep Patil DCP Crime-1 KP Ravikumar ACP, Hanumantharaya,PI, Shivaprasad,and crime staff as,Ananth Krishna,Nagaraj,Srinivas and vinod has been appreciated for the exemplary and good piece of investigation in cracking a unique case by nabbing five member gang and recovering around 80 Crore Worth Ambergris marine.
Unique catch by CCB..80 Kgs of Ambergris (also called Floating Gold) seized worth Rs 80 cr!! is product of Sperm Whales..was intended to be smuggled out of Ind..is in high demand in Intl market..5 arrested Sandeep Patil Joint commissioner of police,Crime said in his tweet.
#Ambergris smugglers netted by the CCB!The special inquiry wing of the @CCBBangalore has arrested 5 persons and seized 80 Kgs of Ambergris (floating gold/whale vomit) worth around Rs.80 Crore in the international market.Ambergris is a solid waxy substance originating in the intestine of the sperm whale and is highly-priced as a fixative.A reward of Rs.1 lakh has been announced to the team for their remarkable efforts Kamal Pant commissioner of police says by tweeting.
