Mumbai: Growing instances of the seizure of ambergris or whale vomit in Mumbai and neighbouring areas over the last 18 months have raised the spectre of poaching of sperm whales.
Recently, ambergris worth crores was seized from Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Raigad and a few persons were arrested. 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 markets for its use in luxury perfumes.
"The rise in the instances of the seizure of ambergris has triggered fear that either sperm whales are being poached or there can be adulteration in the substance, as it is highly valued," a forensic laboratory official said.
Recently, a police team seized ambergris worth Rs 2.6 crore from Marine Drive in Mumbai. The probe took the police to Dapoli in the Ratnagiri district in coastal Konkan to find out whether whales were poached.
The property cell of the Mumbai crime branch had last week arrested one Vaibhav Kalekar from a hotel in south Mumbai and seized the ambergris from him. It is suspected that Kalekar had procured the ambergris from Dapoli where a few whales were found dead some months ago, a police official said.
The police team will investigate all the angles, including suspected poaching of whales to collect ambergris from their stomach, of the case, he said. Kalekar, who hails from Ratnagiri, was arrested under the Wildlife (Protection) Act.
The sperm whale is a protected species under Schedule 2 of the Wildlife Protection Act in India.
Sperm whales found in deep sear produce a solid waxy substance in the form of vomit. Many times, fishermen find ambergris floating in sea.
