The three accused, identified as Rokin, Tiliya and Tayohari, were arrested from Uchhera in Satna district yesterday, a public relations department official today.

"They were handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which has been probing the case," he said.

The trio and their accomplices had allegedly killed several tigers and panthers in the Melghat Tiger Reserve and other forest ranges of Maharashtra in 2012-13.

"Most of their accomplices had been arrested by the Maharashtra Forest department, but these three accused had gone absconding. The case was later transferred to the CBI in 2014 and since then the central agency had been on the lookout for them," he said.

The official said that the Tiger Strike Force has achieved remarkable success by arresting the three "notorious poachers".

According to him, the poachers were held when a campaign was being run by the Tiger Strike Force since the last few days to nab poachers in Katni, Jabalpur, Satna and other nearby areas after an alert was sounded by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).