Bhubaneswar: Forest department officials seized two elephant tusks during a raid at Kalyansinghpur forest range in Rayagahda district on Friday and detained two persons in this connection.
Two accused identified as Surendra Nahak and Shankar Kandagari were busy cooking at Lord Shiva temple at Narayanpur panchayat when the forest officials carried out the raid and seized two elephant tusks from their possession.
Police have detained both of them for interrogation to extract details about tusk smuggling.
Earlier, the Forest Department officials had seized two elephant tusks and arrested two poachers in this connection in Keonjhar district in January 2024.
On a tip-off, the forest department sleuths had conducted a raid in Satkosia area and apprehended the two poachers.
It was established from the preliminary investigation that the tusks were being smuggled to the neighbouring state after poaching.
