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Chennai customs seize 350 endangered star tortoises

     Chennai: Forest Range officials of Velachery recently seized 350 star tortoises, worth as much as 3.5 lacs rupees from Edapalayam, near Sholavram. Velachery Forest Range Officer Sathyamurthy said that the tortoises were hidden in a bushy area near an old airstrip here. Officials said that they had received information about this hide-out around two days back, following which they kept surveillance over the area. They said that though Chief Wildlife Warden KSSVP Reddy had the entire area under observation, they did not catch the culprits then and there but nabbed them after two days. ''We could not catch the culprits though we waited for two days. So we decided to seize the tortoises at the airport. We will investigate the case further and nab the people involved. The tortoises were later produced before Ponneri Magistrate Court and we will hand them over to the Guindy Children's Park tomorrow,'' said Sathyamurthy, adding that the arrested persons will be booked under the Wildlife Protection Act.

     Officials said that they seized the consignment at the airport while Sridharan Chokalingam, a Malaysian citizen was trying to smuggle it out in a bag. Sathyamurthy said that star tortoises might have been shifted from some breeding centres to be kept in this unsuspected spot. He said the hide-out chosen by the tortoise traders, headed by Chokalingam, was an isolated, bushy area near an abandoned airstrip which was constructed during World War II. ''They would have thought of shifting the tortoises to some other place. Since we tightened our surveillance against the smuggling of these animals, the people involved in the trade are finding it difficult to keep their business going. They used to have some breeding points for the tortoise for commercial purposes,'' Sathyamurthy said. He further said that all the tortoises were adult and would have fetch 1000 rupees apiece in the international market. "All the seized ones were adult tortoises, and would fetch about Rs 1000/- each, as they are being used for consumption as well as being brought as pets," he added.
- Sept 20, 2005

Drug worth 18 cr seized from Nigerians (Go to Top)

     New Delhi: Custom officials have said that they have seized drugs worth 18 crores (41 million dollars) from three Nigerian nationals in the Capital. Officials said that the consignment included heroin and cocaine, weighing around 17 kilograms and was recovered from three Nigerians, who had come from Afghanistan. The drugs, they said, was confiscated on Tuesday at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. "Yesterday, we seized heroin and cocaine worth 18 crore rupees (41 million dollars), weighing more than 17 kilograms. The drugs have been seized from three Nigerian nationals who had come from Afghanistan," said MD Singh, Commissioner, Customs. Singh said that the three transit passengers had arrived from Kabul after a long stay, which made the customs department suspicious. Officials said the drugs were hidden in the sandal (footwear) soles, ladies' purse, books as well as file covers. India has recently become the conduit for contraband, brought mainly from Afghanistan, for supply to other Asian countries. According to the United Nations, Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium, with most of the narcotics finding their way finally to Europe.

Actress Preeti Jain arrested in contract killing case  (Go to Top)
by Seema Mishra

     Mumbai: Mumbai Police have arrested actress Preeti Jain after questioning her for about five hours in connection with a plot to kill film director Madhur Bhandarkar. The arrest was ordered after investigations revealed that Jain tried to hire Arun Gawli, a former underworld leader, to kill Bhandarkar. Gawli, a member of the Maharashtra state assembly, has confirmed that Jain tried to meet him. "Preeti Jain came to meet me and said somebody had taken 50,000 rupees from her and was not even answering her phone calls," said Gawli, who is the leader of Akhil Bharatiya Sena. "My PA told me about this and I advised that she should contact the police. After that I do not know what the police have done," Gawli added. Bhandarkar said he was shocked when told about the plot. He described Jain as a liar. Jain had taken Bhandarkar to court on a sexual harassment charge.

      According to the police, the matter was revealed to them by advocate Bagawe, who is considered to be very close to Gawli, earlier this week. Bagawe alleged that Jain had paid Rs 70,000 as part payment to one of Gawli's aides in the last two months in order to eliminate Bhandarkar. The aspiring actress came into limelight in July 2004, when she alleged that the filmmaker had sexually exploited her in return of the promises to give her a break in his films. Jain had claimed that she came in contact with Bhandarkar three years ago and he promised to give her roles in his films, but later sweet-talked her into a sexual relationship. She, later, filed a case against him alleging that the director had even promised to marry her, but did not keep even this promise. However, the court acquitted Bhandarkar after a thorough scrutiny of the case.
- Sept 10, 2005

 

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