Forest staff arrested seven poachers in the Sundarbans early Monday and seized three guns, 53 bullets, eight deer legs and a trawler from their possession.
The arrestees are Mamunur Rashid, Shahabuddin Molla, Khokon Sheikh, Korban Ali, Noor Islam Sheikh and Dalil Boidya of Dakope upazila, and Ziaul Islam of South Tootpara under Khulna Kotwali Police Station.
Acting on a tip-off, a joint team of forest staff from Kalabogi and Nalian forest stations under Sundarbans west division raided a place on the bank of Shibsa River under Dakope upazila at around 2:00am and arrested the seven while they were poaching deer in the Sundarbans, said Towfiqul Islam, assistant conservator of forest (ACF).
Sensing the presence of the forest staff, the poachers threw around 50kg of venison into the river, the forest official said, adding that two other poachers named Zulfikar and Shahinur managed to flee into the deep forest during the raid.
The arrestees were yesterday produced before the Judicial Magistrate's Court that sent them to jail.