Two leopard skins, a two-wheeler and a mobile phone were recovered from the accused. The trio used to poach fauna in Uttarakhand and then smuggle the skins to various parts of the country.

ADG (Law & order) Brij Lal said that the STF was tipped off about a wildlife poaching and smuggling gang being active in west UP. The Meerut unit of STF was asked to develop the inputs. On Friday morning, the STF team learnt that some gang members were coming to Lalkurti locality of Meerut with a consignment to show to some suppliers.

A team, lead by Deputy SP Rahul Raj rushed to the area and trapped the trio as they arrived on a motorcycle. Two leopard skins, a cellphone and a bike were seized from them. The accused were identified as Anees aka Pradhan, Kasim and Nadeem Ahmed of Moradabad.

During interrogation, the trio claimed that they hunted the animals in the jungles of Kumaon and Gharwal in Uttarkhand and later sold the leopard skins for Rs 60,000 each. A case under the Wildlife Act was registsred against them.