The Forest Mobile Squad (FMS), Mysuru unit, busted a gang of four for allegedly trying to sell Ambergris (vomit of a sperm whale), worth Rs 16 crore and weighing 8.2 kilograms, near Kushalnagar in Kodagu district.
FMS personnel arrested Kodagu based K A Ibrahim, B A Raffique, Tahir Naqqash, and K M George of Kerala. The prime accused Riyaz is absconding.
Ambergris is a very expensive wax that originates as a secretion in the intestines of the sperm whale. It can be found floating in seas and is used in the manufacturing of perfumes and medicines. It costs up to Rs 3 crore per kilo in Khatar, Dubai and China.
An officer said it is yet to be ascertained from where the accused obtained the Ambergris. They might have collected it from a sea or they might have extracted from a dead whale, the official added.
The gang was were nabbed while trying to sell secretion.