Bhubaneswar: In a major success against wildlife smuggling, Odisha Forest department officials have arrested seven poachers, including an OISF personnel, and seized a leopard skin from them in Bhubaneswar.
A senior official said that the city Forest department officials nabbed the seven persons, including a personnel of the Odisha Industrial Security Force (OISF), during a special operation from Tamando area on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar in connection with illegal trading of animal skins.
A leopard skin was recovered after the forest department officials conducted a raid when a deal was underway for selling the leopard skin and caught the smugglers red-handed.
The major achievement was result of a sting operation. Acting on a specific information, the Bhubaneswar forest department on August 28 placed one of their staff undercover as the buyer.
Unaware of the sting operation, the smugglers moved on with the deal at Baliapada village field in Kashipur Mauja under the jurisdiction of Tamando police station.
The Forest department officials raided the place and caught seven smugglers, including the OISF personnel, red-handed.
The leopard had reportedly been hunted in Boudh before the deal, worth Rs 10 lakh, was planned in Bhubaneswar.
Five mobile phones, tiger mustache, tiger teeth and tiger nails were also seized during the operation.
