Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru 

Bengaluru, Nov 20: Nine people, including a police constable were arrested on charges of trying to sell a leopard skin. 

The gang was arrested on Tuesday morning at Giddalur, Andhra Pradesh which is around 130 kilometers east from the Karnataka border. 

After a tip-off from a wildlife activist from Bengaluru branch of Traffic, an International NGO which monitors wildlife trafficking, the forest officers issued ‘high alert’. 

Divisional forest officer Sathish, who took part in the raid, said that a leopard pelt which is believed to be over a year old and three leopard nails were recovered from the arrested. A Bolero motorcycle was also confiscated which was used for trafficking. 

The people arrested belonged to different backgrounds. Some were shepherds, goat herds and hotel management students pursuing studies in Malaysia. 

Police constable from traffic division, Srinivas Rao, was also arrested for being part of the peddling racket. Even though the cop vehemently denied his role, evidence proves that he acted as a mediator to facilitate the illegal trade. Call records showed that he had contacted the other people who were arrested. 

A case has been booked against the nine for peddling.