Baripada (Odisha), Jan 19 (PTI) The Odisha Police has seized 23 illegal arms from various places in and around the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) in the last few months and arrested 8 people in this connection, an official said on Friday.

“A total of 23 illegal arms were seized and 14 cases registered at nine police stations,” SP (Mayurbhanj) S Sushree said.

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The Mayurbhanj Police has been conducting raids inside the STR following the killing of two forest officials by armed poachers in May and June last year, she said.

Altogether, 259 illegal firearms and weapons have been seized so far, the SP said.

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With the deployment of police personnel inside the tiger reserve, cases of poaching have gone down significantly, she added.

(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)