The Forest Department has arrested three persons for possession of two large tusks in a mango grove at Arumbakkam village near Katpadi in Vellore on Thursday.Forest officials said that arrested persons were identified as D. Mukesh (33), B. Jayakumar (53) and R. Srinivasan (50). Except Mukesh, a native of Chittoor in A.P, other two suspects are residents of Arumbakkam village near Katpadi.Initial inquiry revealed that based on orders of T.K. Ashok Kumar, District Forest Officer (DFO), Vellore Division, special teams were formed for regular patrolling of forests to prevent smuggling of wild species.Forest officials said that based on an alert, a forest team led by N. Kandasamy, forest range officer (Katpadi), conducted a surprise check in a mango grove near Katpadi where the team found two large tusks. The mango grove was owned by Jayakumar, who told forest officials about the gang that was involved in selling tusks to prospective buyers in Kerala, Karnataka and Delhi.Forest officials said that Jayakumar told them that they got tusks from Chittoor resident Mukesh, who asked him to hide the treasure until they find prospective buyers for it. A case was registered against them. Three two-wheelers were also seized from them. Arrested persons were lodged at Central Prison in Vellore. A probe is underway.In February, two persons were arrested for possession of two tusks in Pernambut Reserve forest (RF) in the region. The duo found tusks in a decomposed carcass of an elephant in the forests when they went to hunt small animals like rabbits. Published - July 09, 2026 07:56 pm IST