Moscow, Feb 12 (IANS/RIA Novosti): Police have seized 600 kg of fossilised mammoth tusks from residents of Yakutia in Russia's far eastern region.
The interior affairs department said police found 71 tusks at a warehouse in Blagoveschensk.
Three men were planning to sell the tusks to Chinese nationals.
The international market price of mammoth tusk is almost equal to the price of silver.
One kg is worth 5,000 rubles (around $170) at international auctions in Yakutsk, capital of Yakutia.
Around 90 percent of mammoth remains found so far have come from Yakutia.
The region's extreme weather conditions and permafrost allow scientists to find the remains largely intact.