The Thane Police Crime Branch on Tuesday arrested two persons for allegedly trying to smuggle two Earth Boa snakes worth ₹55 lakh in the market. An endangered species, the snakes are in high demand in the market for supersitions associated with it.
Thane Crime Branch officers said the arrests were made by by the Unit I of the Thane Crime Branch following a tip-off on Tuesday morning, which was incidentally World Forest Day.
Hidden in rucksack
Police Inspector Ravindra Doifode, Unit I, Thane Crime Branch, said, “We acted on a tip-off that two men were arriving in the city to sell the snakes. We laid a trap in the Panch Pakhadi area in Thane and intercepted both of them. One of them was carrying a rucksack and we found the two Earth Boas in an opening in it. The snakes were seized and the men were detained.”
The two men, who were identified as Sandip Pandit (21) and Anant Ghodvinde (47), were arrested and charged under the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act. The police are making further inquiries with the duo about the source as well as the intended recipients of the snakes. Mr. Doifode said, “There is a superstition among Indians that an Earth Boa leads one to hidden wealth if one worships it and lets it loose. The superstition is exploited by self-styled godmen who advise people to buy Earth Boas and use them to find hidden treasure. There is a thriving illegal trade of Earth Boas, which are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act.”
While one of the Earth Boas is 31 inches long and would fetch at least ₹25 lakh in the Indian market, the other is 44 inches in length and fetch ₹30 lakh. The price for them in the international black market is much higher, said officers.
The accused were produced in court on Wednesday and remanded in judicial custody. They can seek bail as the Sections invoked against them are bailable ones. In their bail hearing on Friday, the police will move the court asking that they be made to present them before the investigating officer for questioning. Officials said they wanted to obtain information about the source of the snakes and who was going to buy them.
An officer who is part of the investigation said, “We suspect that self-proclaimed miracle workers are involved in the illegal trade. They recommend suppliers of such snakes to people seeking wealth and the suppliers give them a cut from the sale of the snakes. Further investigation is on.”
