Baripada: Three wildlife smugglers were arrested by police and a leopard skin and more than Rs one lakh seized from them from Khunta area of Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district.
Acting on an information, a team of police personnel from Khunta carried out a raid at Badaalia village on Tuesday night and recovered the leopard skin from a house, police said.
Three persons, including the supplier of the skin and two wildlife smugglers, were arrested and more than Rs one lakh cash seized from them. The three were planning to sell the leopard skin when they were nabbed, Mayurbhanj Superintendent of Police Rishikesh D Khilari said.
He said the length of the skin is around 165 cm and it was believed to be that of a full grown leopard aged around 7 to 8 years.
The accused were identified as Chittaranjan Sahu and Trilochan Sahu of Bholagadia village and Genduru Ho of Baniabasa.
Further investigation is underway to ascertain whether the skin was procured from someone else or the supplier had obtained it after killing a leopard.
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