The Odisha police on Saturday claimed to possess busted a wildlife smuggling racket, after a poacher was arrested and two leopard skins seized from his possession in Nayagarh district.
Acting on a tip-off, officials of the special task force conducted a raid in Ranpur area and caught the person with the leopard skins, STF Superintendent of Police, Prashant Kumar Bhoi, said.
Around 30 pieces of leopard bones were also recovered from the accused, he said.
“Efforts are on to determine on how the animals were killed,” Bhoi said, adding, the hides and bones are going to be sent to a laboratory for examination.
The accused is suspected to be mastermind of the racket as he was getting to strike a deal to sell these, he said.
He has been booked under various sections of the Wildlife Protection Act and therefore the IPC, police said.
The STF had earlier busted an animal product smuggling racket in Gania area within the district on June 8, and arrested two person.
