Indore: A rare two-headed red sand boa snake, protected under Wildlife Protection Act, was recovered from a smuggler in Sukhliya on Wednesday. The snake, believed to bring good luck and wealth, is one of the endangered species in India and its smugglers are jailed up to seven years.
According to ASP (crime) Amarendra Singh, police received information that a man was searching for purchasers in local and international market for two- headed red sand boa snake. The police and forest department in a joint operation nabbed Gaurav Shrivastav who hails from Lalpura in Shajapur and was currently living in Sunder Nagar, Sukhliya. The police recovered the snake from a polythene bag from the accused.
The red sand boa snake has a huge demand in the international market, especially in Arabian countries, Nepal, Indonesia, Taiwan, China and Malaysia, where it is used for black magic and medicinal purposes. The accused admitted that the snake is also used for making intoxicants, increasing potency, curing epilepsy, cancer, AIDS and other diseases.
He said snake is sold in kilograms. While in India, 3-4 kgs of red sand snake may cost Rs 25 lakh, same snake costs in crores internationally. The accused also confessed that he catches rare species of snake from different Indian regions to sell them in international market.
Singh said that if the snake weighs more than 2.5 kgs then its market values increases many times. The recovered snake weighs 3.5 kg and is 56 inches in length. ASP Singh said seized snake should be worth crores in international market. The accused was booked under Sections 3, 9, 39, 41, 50, 51 and 52 of Wildlife Protection Act.
