The Navi Mumbai Crime Branch (unit 3) arrested three persons for allegedly smuggling a sand boa snake from Pune to sell it in Panvel on Friday morning. The police had laid a trap after they received information about their activity.
The arrested persons were identified as Arbaz Shaikh (24), Sagar Shinde (22), both residents of Pune, and Shasha Ali Pathan (22), a resident of Raigad.
Police said that they caught the reptile in a forest in Pune and took it to Panvel to sell it to someone. There is a ban on illegal catching and trading of wildlife animals including the Sand Boa.
Shatrughna Mali, senior inspector of the crime branch said they had received a tip-off that a few people were bringing an endangered animal in the city to sell.
“Based on the information, we laid a trap at different places. One of the teams spotted three suspicious-looking people at Panvel and intercepted them. They were carrying a black bag with them,” said Mali. He added that upon checking the bag, they found a Sand Boa and an electronic weighing machine inside it. The police then arrested them from the spot.
The police booked the accused under sections 420 and 511 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 51 and 52 of the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972. They later handed the Sand Boa to the forest department after taking permission from the court.
There is a myth that keeping the rare snake at home brings money and prosperity. However, there is a ban on the illegal trade of wildlife animals including sand boa.
