Konkan railway police team with the accused arrested in the whale vomit seizure case.
Photo Credits: Santosh Mirajkar
MARGAO
In a major haul, the Konkan Railway Police on Friday effected the seizure of whale vomit (ambergris) valued around Rs 5.60 crore in the market.
Acting on a tip-off from Railway Protection Force inspector, Vinod Mishra on February 15 that two males in the age group of 25-30 years would be visiting Margao Railway Station to board a train to Kerala, the police nabbed the two persons at the railway station on Thursday evening.
The duo were allegedly found in possession of a suspected prohibited substance known as whale vomit (Ambergris). Addressing the media, Konkan railway police station DySP Gurudas Kadam informed that the team of Konkan railway police with the assistance of RPF officials and officials from the Forest Department apprehended the two persons, Arun s/o Rajan, age 30 years, and Nibin Varghese, age 29 years, both natives of Kerala, who had visited Margao Railway Station. He said the police seized from their possession a sticky brownish colour substance, properly packed in a carton, suspected to be whale vomit (ambergris).
“Ambergris is a sticky waxy substance produced in the digestive tract of the Sperm Whales which the whale vomits. The whales are largely hunted for obtaining the ambergris from its digestive tract,” DySP Kadam said.
Saying that whales are a protected species, he said the possession or trade of any of its by-products is illegal under the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
“The Whale vomit has huge demand in the market as the same is used for making medicines and for making expensive perfumes. A kilogram of whale vomit is priced at over Rs one crore in the market. The Konkan Railway Police has seized 5,694 grams of whale vomit amounting to Rs 5,60,94,000 (crores),” he added.
An offence under the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 has been registered by the Konkan Railway Police Station. The duo has been remanded to five days police custody.
PI Sunil Gudlar of Konkan Railway Police Station is conducting further investigation to unearth the source of the seized whale vomit and to establish the persons involved in its trade, under the guidance of SP Konkan Railway Gurudas Gaude and DySP Konkan Railway, Gurudas Kadam.
