The Nagamangala Rural police on Friday night arrested two persons and recovered a non-venomous red sand boa snake, weighing three-and-a-half kg.
The accused have been identified as Manjunath (28) of Nandigodanahalli near Belur in Hassan district and Sherriff (33) from Katpadi near Gunjadri in Udupi district.
The police raided a place near Shikaripura and busted a racket of selling sand boa, locally called as ‘Mannu mukkuva havu’, Savitha Hugar, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Nagamangala subdivision), told The Hindu .
Minesh of Shikaripura was trying to sell the snake to four persons, she said. A team has been formed to trace Minesh and two others.
The sand boa belongs to Schedule IV of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 and a case has been registered against five persons under certain provisions of the Act.