Four persons were arrested and skins of a tiger and a leopard recovered from various places in Bastar division of Chhattisgarh from Kanker and Kondagaon districts today, police said.
"Acting on a tip-off, three alleged wild life traders were apprehended from the bus stand under Kanker police station limits when they were heading towards Raipur on a motorcycle reportedly to sell a smuggled skin of tiger," SP RN Dash told PTI.
They are identified as Mahesh Naag (28), Parasram Nag (32) and Pidhoram Lekami (35)--all residents of Dantewada district--the SP said, adding, the seized skin is estimated to be worth lakhs of rupees.
Investigation is on to ascertain the source from where they procured the animal skin, he said.
In a separate incident, one Kartikram Lohar (35) was arrested from Kondagaon district and a leopard skin was seized from him, district ASP Surjit Atri said.
During the investigation, the accused confessed to procuring the skin from a remote village of Narayanpur, Atri said, adding, Lohar was caught when he was heading towards Raipur, apparently to sell the skin.
The estimated market value of seized leopard skin is Rs 2.50 lakh, the ASP said.
All the alleged wildlife traders were booked under various sections of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, police said.
On November 30, five persons were arrested along with two tiger skins and that of as many leopards in Kanker.
