COIMBATORE: Eight persons including an anti-poaching watcher were held by Coimbatore forest department for attempting to sell tusk.

Acting on a tip, a team led by Mettupalayam Forest Range Officer Joseph Stalin nabbed M Pradeesh, 27 from Kotagiri and Chinnapandi, 45 from Sirumugai, while they were attempting to sell the tusk to Subramani, 43 from Kannerimukku in the Nilgiris. Inquiries revealed that the tusk was given by Manikandan, 27, an anti-poaching watcher from Vilamundi Forest Range in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR). He took the tusk from the carcass of an elephant in the forest area in 2017.

He then gave the tusk to Nanjundan, 36, who attempted to sell it through Rajkumar, 41, Pratheesh, Gunasekaran, 26 and Manoj, 23. After inquiries, all eight persons were arrested, original tusk along with fake tusk made of wood, car and a two-wheeler seized from them.