Forest Department officials foiled a poaching bid late on Saturday night with arrest of six elephant hunters in Keonjhar district.
Among arrested persons, two were sharpshooters from Arunachal Pradesh.
Based on information, the forest officials conducted a raid in the forest area near Nalapanga village under the Sadar Range and arrested the poachers, who used to kill jumbos to extract their tusks.
The accused were caught red-handed while laying a trap with nylon ropes and digging a trench to hunt
elephants late on Saturday night. The arrested persons would be booked under various Sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, said forest officials.