Jeweller sold trinkets made with illegal elephant hair
A CROOK sold illegally imported jewellery worth thousands of pounds made out of hair from endangered elephants.
Rajtharan Mahalingam, 40, peddled the rings, bracelets and a pendant from his shop.
The Met Police’s Wildlife Crime Unit first discovered the pieces were being advertised during online research in 2017.
The shop was selling the jewellery claiming it contained elephant hair.
The premises were raided in May 2018 and a large amount of trinkets seized. Some of the 35 rings were being sold for more than £ 200 and a bracelet had a price tag of £ 646.
An investigation revealed the items had been illegally imported without permits then put on sale from the shop in Wembley, north London.
Forensic analysis on samples of the gold pieces revealed the hair matched DNA from both African and Asian elephants.
Mahalingam was found guilty at Harrow Crown Court of seven counts of purchasing or offering to purchase, sell, keep for sale or commercially use products containing specimens derived from endangered
species. But he dodged jail and was sentenced to 32 weeks inside, suspended for 16 months. Mahalingam, from the Isle of Wight, was also fined £ 200, ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work, and must pay £ 1,500 costs and a surcharge of £ 140.
Detective Constable Sarah Bailey, of the Met’s Wildlife Crime Unit, said: “There are legal requirements in relation to the import.
“Elephants continue to be poached and it is worrying that the derivatives of such activity may appear for sale in London.”