Kendrapara, March 21: Bhitarkanika National Park personnel have taken into custody five members of an organised deer poaching racket and seized raw spotted deer meat, antlers and hides from the protected mangrove forest areas.

A forest official said the accused used to regularly trap and kill wild boar and deer.

"Besides the raw meat, deer hide, antlers, nets and nylon loops used for trapping the animals were seized during a raid at the Dangmal protected forest block within the core area of the national park," said Rajnagar mangrove (wildlife) forest division officer Bimal Prasanna Acharya.

The accused, booked under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, were remanded to judicial custody today.

The poachers often trap the animals by spreading nylon ropes in the forest and its nearby areas and kill the deer. Some poachers also use trained dogs to kill the spotted deer, said sources.