Dilip Kumar

Bhubaneswar: The Special Task Force (STF) of Odisha Crime Branch on Wednesday claimed to have busted a major leopard skin smuggling racket by arresting three persons in this connection in Bargarh. The STF team has also seized a leopard skin along with nails and teethes from them.

Though the accused persons belong to the Bargarh district, they run the illegal trade in Bhubaneswar, officials said. Further investigation is underway in this connection to extract more information, they added.

Earlier in last week, the STF team had arrested a driver of a private university on charges of smuggling tiger skin and wildlife organs. A tiger skin was also seized from his possession. The officials said that they conducted the crackdown while he was planning to sell the skin in Bhubaneswar for Rs 5 lakh.

Sources said, the Crime Branch sleuths had already seized over 14 leopard skins in separate incidents in last two years.

Earlier in June, the STF team had seized four tiger and one deer skin in Nayagarh district. In October, the officials of the task forces had conducted a raid at Subarnapur village in Sambalpur district and seized a leopard skin with the arrest of a poacher.

In 2019, the STF team had arrested seven smugglers with seizure of seven tiger skins from them. Similarly, one skin each from Bhawanipatna and Deogarh had been seized in the same year.

It is pertinent to mention that there has been a spurt in the smuggling of wild animals and hides with seizures reported from different parts of the State at regular intervals even though the Special Striking Force constituted in 2008 by the State Government is working for the protection of wildlife.

scrollToTop