Villupuram district forest officer S Anand said they received specific information about the sale by a group of narikoravas from Tiruvannamalai district.

Following this, one of the narikoravas was lured by officials who posed as prospective buyers. He was asked to come to Gingee where the skins were seized and he was arrested.

Anand said three of the skins were six months old and the remaining two were a month old. All the skins bore bullet marks, which indicated that the deer had been shot by the narikoravas with country made weapons.

Mannan, the accused hailed from Melmalayanur village in Tiruvannamalai district. "A narikorava settlement is there in the village and we suspect the men living there indulge in regular poaching," the official said. A case under Section 51 of the Wildlife Act has been filed against Mannan, who was remanded to custody.