Tamilnadu, March 03: Nine persons, including a woman, were arrested in Pollachi in nearby Coimbatore district for possessing tiger and panther skins, Erode District Forest Conservator said.
According to Erode District Conservator of Forests Arun, a team of Forest Department personnel in plainclothes traveled to Dharapuram in nearby Tirupur district yesterday following a tip-off. One of the officers, posing as a civilian, met Jailani, one of the accused, to purchase tiger skin, he said.
Jailani demanded Rs five crore for the skin and took the undercover officer to Pollachi yesterday night, where he was shown the skins of a tiger, four panthers and a black panther, he said.
——-PTI