Police have arrested four suspected smugglers in possession with leopard hides from Sharada Municipality-1 in Salyan district. 

Rana Bahadur Kunwar of Mahadevpuri-5 in Banke, Bhuwan Yogi of Bagchaur-8, Belaram Giri of Patihalna and Bhim Kumari Chand of Damachaur in Salyan were detained with two hides of leopard on Friday evening. Police made them public on Saturday. 

Security personnel from the regional investigation team approached the suspects on the guise of customers to purchase the hides. The accused fixed the rate at Rs1.5 million for a piece of leopard hide. The security personnel detained the suspects from a guest house at Shreenagar, Sharada-1. The arrested persons, who are local traders, said that they were enticed by their relatives to make some quick money. 

A preliminary investigation shows that the hides were brought to Shreenagar from Rukum district, DSP Shyam Kumar Khatri said, adding that they are holding a detailed investigation taking the suspects into custody. 

2 poachers nabbed

GULARIYA: Security personnel have detained two fugitives convicted on poaching charges. Jhakku Prasad Thapamagar and Chhabilal Tharu of Mohammadpur-6 in Bardiya were arrested on Friday. A total of 126 suspected poachers and smugglers have been arrested in the past four months since the Bardiya National Park launched a major operation to curb the poaching. 

Man arrested with pangolin scales

SANKHUWASABHA: Nepal Police arrested a man in possession of pangolin scales from Chainpur-18 in the district on Saturday. Forty-nine-year-old  Ridardandi Bhote, a resident of Chepuwa-6, was held with 1.6 kilograms of pangolin scales, said police. 

He was detained during a security check on a Khandbari-bound bus.