Junagadh, Feb 12 (PTI) Days after busting a poaching ring involved in trapping animals in and around Gir forest, the Gujarat forest department has nabbed five more suspected poachers who had earlier killed a lion cub, an official said on Friday.

Preliminary probe has revealed that one of the accused, a resident of Dungarpur village of Junagadh, had allegedly trapped and killed a lion cub some years ago using a snare he had purchased from another accused, deputy conservator of forest, Junagadh, SK Berwal said.

According to another official, four other suspected poachers have been nabbed from different parts of the region under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act.

The five accused have been remanded to a five-day custody of forest department, the official said.

"We had apprehended several suspected poachers a week ago and learnt that they had purchased snares from a person. After his arrest, the snare maker admitted to have sold snares to some others, including the man from Dungarpur," Berwal said without revealing more details.

At least 38 suspected poachers were arrested by the forest department on February 3 after a lion cub was found trapped in a snare on the outskirts of Prachi village of Gir- Somnath district.

It was revealed that the accused used to hunt smaller animals such as jackals and rabbits whose body parts are used to make traditional medicines, usually sold in roadside tents.

(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)