Berhampur: Forest officials in Odisha’s Gajapati district on Friday arrested six persons for allegedly possessing leopard skins illegally and seized two skins during raids conducted over the past two days.Two leopard skins, three motorcycles and six mobile phones were seized from the accused, including two persons from the Daringbadi area of Kandhamal district, said Paralakhemundi divisional forest officer (DFO) Nagaraju K on Friday.The accused were identified as G Rabi (40) of Hadubhangi, Prafulla Ghanta (42) of Parida village under Kashinagar police limits, Jaga Mallick (36), Bijaya Nanda Nayak (23) and Deepak Kumar Nayak (25) of Daringbadi in Kandhamal district, and Trilochan Patra (35) of Paniganda under Adava police limits in Gajapati district.Acting on a tip-off, a team led by assistant conservator of forests (ACF) Shine Shree Dash conducted a raid near the Paralakhemundi bus stand on Thursday and apprehended Rabi and Ghanta. A leopard skin was seized from them while they were allegedly negotiating its sale, the DFO said.On Friday, forest officials raided Tulasi Nagar under the Mohana forest range following information about wildlife contraband being traded in the area. During the operation, they seized another leopard skin and arrested four persons, three of them from Kandhamal district.Officials said further investigation is underway to trace the source of the leopard skins and identify the intended buyers and possible links to a wider wildlife trafficking network.