Baripada: Odisha police Wednesday arrested two ivory smugglers during a drive against poachers in Similipal National Park, Mayurbhanj SP B Gangadhar said.
Speaking to reporters, the SP said police have seized two countrymade guns, two air guns, one air gun and Rs 2.95 lakh cash from them.
“The two accused have cases involving ivory trade. They might be using these arms to kill elephants to extract the tusks,” he said.
The arrested were identified as Santanu Sahu (52) and Aswini Kumar Dey (50) of Sainkula village under Khunta police station.
Three platoons (1 platoon comprise 30 personnel) of policemen were deployed in Similipal Tiger Reserve after two forest officials were gunned down, he said.
Earlier, police seized 11 countrymade guns during search operations in Similipal National Park, the SP said.
PTI