India, June 24 -- Refusing bail to an accused in a Rs.3.5-crore elephant ivory trafficking case, a sessions court has observed that crimes involving endangered wildlife pose a continuing threat to species survival and must be viewed more seriously than ordinary criminal offences.

Additional Sessions Judge Nitin V. Jiwane on Monday rejected the application filed by Sandeep Randhir Bidlaan, one of five men accused of attempting to sell elephant tusks allegedly worth Rs.3.5 crore during a police trap operation in Chembur in April.

According to the prosecution, officers raided a lodging house after receiving information about a planned ivory sale and recovered tusks weighing 11 kg and 20.6 kg. Four men were arrested at the scene and a fifth...