The special task force of CID, Crime Branch, on Saturday arrested four poachers and rescued two live pangolins from their possession at Udala in Mayurbhanj district.

The accused persons, aged between 35 and 45, have been identified as Balia Andhara Judia of Ambadiha Colony, Udala, Debendra Das of Manudiha in Basta, Janmenjay Naik of Ambadali and Raghunath Behera of Chakradharpur in Kaptipada.

They were apprehended while negotiating a deal with a procurer who was actually an STF official in disguise. The smugglers had demanded Rs 22 lakh for the pangolins. They were taken into custody and were taken to Bhubaneswar for further interrogation.

The department said raids were conducted after receiving intelligence inputs by superintendent of police, STF, Satyajit Naik. “Two live pangolins, weighing about 13kg, were seized,” said an official of the raiding team of the STF.

“A case has been registered under sections 379, 411, 120(B) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972,” he said, adding “the accused persons are under interrogation for more clues about the involvement of other accused persons including their previous antecedents, their linkage with other accused persons across the state and nation.”