Malkangiri/Baripada: Forest Department officials have seized two leopard skins in separate incidents in Odisha’s two tribal-dominated districts of Malkangiri and Mayurbhanj and arrested six persons on the charge of smuggling of wildlife body parts, police said Thursday.
The market value of two leopard skins could be above Rs 2.5 lakh in the international market, forest officials said.
In Mayurbhanj district, the forest officials raided Badaolia village on the foothills of Similipal National Park and seized a leopard skin and cash of Rs 1.27 lakh, said SP Mayurbhanj Rishikesh Dyandeo Khilari.
The SP said three poachers were arrested.
The forest officials suspect that the leopard was killed from Similipal National park. The seized leopard skin was 165 cm long. The three poachers were produced before SDJM Court Udala which remanded them to jail custody for 14 days.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Malkangiri, Pratap Kotapalli said that three people were arrested along with the seizure of leopard skin worth over Rs 1 lakh in Malkangiri district.
The DFO said the seizure was made Wednesday. The officials led by Motu Forest Range officer Rashmi Ranjan Swain came across three people in forest area and on checking of their bags a leopard skin was seized. The skin was 1.13 metres long.
The DFO said that the age of the tiger whose skin has been collected is about 3 years old.
PTI