The Special Task Force (STF) of the Crime Branch on Friday arrested two wildlife criminals at Ainapali village under the Tushura police station in Balangir district for illegally possessing a live pangolin.
The accused were identified as Heamasaga Mahananda from Khaliapalli village and Laxmidhar Nayak from Ainapalli village.
On the basis of reliable information, the STF team conducted the raid with the help of Balangir forest officials and apprehended the criminals.
During the search operation, one live pangolin weighing around 11 kg and other incriminating materials were recovered from their possession.
Later, the live pangolin was handed over to Balangir DFO for safe custody.
In another incident,, a special squad of the Forest Department conducted a raid in the Khandadhua area in Deogarh district. They nabbed three persons red-handed while they were making a deal to sell leopard skin. The skin of the wild animal was seized from the possession of the accused.