Baripada, Jul 24 (PTI) Forest department personnel seized at least four leopard hides and arrested three persons in connection with smuggling of wildlife body parts in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district, an official said.

Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Baripada and Deputy Director STR (Similipal Tiger Reserve) South conducted a joint raid on Sunday and arrested three persons with leopard hides, the official said.

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The forest officials were interrogating the trio to ascertain whether they had killed the leopards or procured the hides from some poachers.

The incident came a day after the Special Task Force of Odisha Police arrested a wildlife smuggler and seized three leopard hides from his possession in Kalahandi district.

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(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)