JEYPORE: Investigation into a ganja smuggling case led a team from Gujarat’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) to a 44-year-old man of Jeypore town, who was nabbed with a leopard skin on Tuesday night.
The accused is Bibhuti Bhusan Patra of Kenduguda. Sources said the Gujarat team had come to Koraput on the trail of ganja smugglers. During an operation at Kenduguda on Monday night, the team reportedly found the leopard skin inside a car. Subsequently, Patra was apprehended and handed over to the officials of Jeypore forest division.
Jeypore DFO Prashant Kumar Patel said the team from Gujarat found the skin and subsequently handed it over to us along with the accused for further action. The vehicle used to transport the skin was also seized from Patra, who was arrested and produced in court.
Preliminary investigation indicated that the leopard may have been killed several months ago, though officials are yet to establish the exact place and time. The DFO said an investigation has been launched to trace the source of the leopard skin and dismantle the wildlife trafficking network behind it.