Three construction workers from Chittoor were caught trying to sell four elephant tusks at Guddadahalli in northern Bengaluru on Monday, police said.
Lokesh, 27, Manjunath, 25, and Gopi, 30, had arrived in Bengaluru and were looking for customers when Hebbal police arrested them following a tip-off, a senior officer said.
Police said Lokesh had lost his job during the lockdown and borrowed money from several people who were seeking immediate repayment. An acquaintance then offered him Rs 50,000 if he could help sell the tusks in Bengaluru. Lokesh agreed after talking to his friends Manjunath and Gopi.
The trio has been booked under the Wildlife Act and the police are looking out for the people who supplied the tusks, the officer said.