Man guilty of illegally selling jewellery with elephant hair

Maharaj Sivasundram, 40, was found guilty on Friday at Harrow Crown Court of seven counts of offering the sale of products containing specimens derived from endangered species, according to the Metropolitan Police.

The Met said Sivasundram, of Malden Fields, Bushey, was fined £8,400.

Police said it was in 2017 that detectives discovered a shop in Wembley advertising gold jewellery, including rings and bangles, containing elephant hair, for sale.

Inquiries were carried out to ascertain whether the establishment had ever legally imported elephant hair jewellery, but police said no permits had ever been issued.

A bracelet containing hair from an African elephant. Credit: Met Police

The Met said officers carried out a search warrant at the premises on May 15 2018 and a large quantity of gold jewellery containing black fibres was seized.

Sivasundram was not arrested at this time, but was later interviewed under caution.

Police said forensic tests conducted by the Science & Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) laboratory on samples of the jewellery detected DNA from African elephants.

Baby bangles offered for sale at the venue were labelled as “elephant hair”, the Met said.

A baby bangle containing hair from an African elephant. Credit: Met Police

Detective Constable Sarah Bailey, from the Met’s wildlife crime unit, said: "There are legal requirements surrounding the sale of specimens derived from protected or endangered species, requirements which had not been met in this case.

"African elephants continue to be poached, activity which partners globally are trying to prevent, so it is incredibly worrying that illegal derivatives from elephants have appeared for sale in London.

"We will continue to identify and prosecute those profiting in London from the illegal trade of endangered species from around the world."

African elephants are the largest animals walking the Earth and their herds wander through 37 countries in Africa.

Scientists have determined that there are actually two species of African elephants - and that both are at risk of extinction.

Savanna elephants are larger animals that roam the plains of sub-Saharan Africa, while forest elephants are smaller animals that live in the forests of Central and West Africa.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature lists savanna elephants as endangered and forest elephants as critically endangered.