DEOGARH: A special squad of Deogarh police arrested five persons for involvement in illegal wildlife trade and seized a leopard hide from their possession in Barkote on Monday.
The accused are Dhiren Naik (20) of Deogarh, Niranjan Naik (29), Mustak Uddin (33), Patti Kisan (32) and Sukra Kula (30), all from Sundargarh.
Deogarh SP Rajkishore Paikray said police were tipped off about the accused in possession of a leopard skin searching for buyers. A special team of Deogarh and Barkote police led by SDPO Pratyush Kumar Mohapatra contacted the illegal wildlife traders and negotiated with them as buyers.
The accused demanded `12 lakh for the hide and asked the team to come near Ambakata forest to execute the deal. Subsequently, the squad reached the spot and apprehended the five accused red-handed. Apart from the leopard skin, police seized two knives and five mobile phones from them.
The leopard hide is around 8 ft in length. During interrogation, the accused confessed that they had killed the big cat near Lahunipada forest in Sundargarh’s Bonai six days back.