It’s rather simple for law enforcers to take action if they see the law being broken by people, but when such an incident involves creatures too big for the standard prison cell, things get a little trickier.

A Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) executive magistrate yesterday “seized” two elephants, who were allegedly being used for extortion by blocking roads, and handed them over to the Mirpur Zoo. Their mahouts were given two-year jail sentences for the offence.

“Me and my colleagues were at Hotel Super Star [on Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue] for a snack break following a drive at the Karwan Bazar fish market, when we heard some foreigners in a car on the road screaming for help,” Rab executive magistrate Sarwoer Alam told The Daily Star. They found two elephants were blocking the road, and their mahouts extorting commuters using the mammals. One of the elephants had put its trunk inside a car carrying the foreigners, causing panic, he added.

When Rab asked the mahouts to pull the elephants over, they instead tried to intimidate by pushing the law enforcers’ vehicles aside, and made a move towards the Panthapath-Tejgaon link road, spreading panic along the way.

“By the time our backup force arrived, the elephants had entered Hatirjheel,” said Sarwoer, adding that they eventually managed to stop the elephants, and apprehended their riders.

“The riders were given two year jail sentences for blocking roads and exortion,” he said, adding that these men usually “rent” the elephants from owners on a daily contract for Tk 3,000, and use them to scare people into giving them money.”

Anyone who wishes to keep elephants as pets must obtain license, and it is mentioned in the license that the animals may not be used in such acts, Sarwoer said.

“We called [Mirpur] zoo officials and escorted the elephants to the zoo. That will be their new home,” the magistrate added.