PHULBANI: Forest officials of Phulbani range arrested three persons and seized wildlife articles including a leopard hide from their possession here on Tuesday.
The accused were identified as Prabhat Mallick (35) from Dadaki, Trinath Kanhar (56) of Pakadamba village and Sanjay Mallick (44) of Gumurikhol village. Acting on a tip-off about the illegal wildlife trade, forest officials nabbed the trio from the Gudari-Datpaju road near the Gudari airstrip, said divisional forest officer (DFO) Prasant Patel.
A pair of barking deer horns, a loaded country-made gun, 100 gram gunpowder, 181 gram of lead, two motorcycles, 25 wooden planks, a hand saw and a power saw were also seized from the possession of the accused.
Phulbani range officer Sibananda Lenka said a case under Wildlife Protection Act was registered and the accused produced in court. Earlier in July, six persons were arrested from the Tikabali area of Kandhamal district for allegedly possessing a leopard hide.