In the Thane district of Maharashtra, the police have apprehended three individuals after ambergris, commonly called whale vomit or grey amber, worth more than Rs 85 lakh was recovered from them.
The trio was nabbed on October 3 night by a team of forest department personnel during patrolling near a hotel at Mankoli in Bhiwandi taluka of the district, official said.
During a routine patrol, the forest team spotted the trio around 11.30 pm. On being searched, they were found possessing ambergris worth Rs 85.45 lakh, an official of Narpoli police station said.
The forest personnel seized the ambergris and lodged a complaint with the local police, who filed a case under sections of the Wild Life (Protection) Act against the accused and arrested them, he said.
Ambergris, created by the bile duct of the sperm whale, is often called floating gold due to the immense price it fetches in the international market for its use in luxury perfumes. The sperm whale is a protected species under Schedule 2 of the Wildlife Protection Act in India.