A massive Red Sand Boa snake was rescued from four smugglers in West Bengal’s Darjeeling. The accused, who have been arrested, were involved in illegal trading and were set to take the non-venomous snake to Nepal.
The accused have been identified as Arindam Sarkar, Pasang Lama Sherpa, Abavar Miya and Jagadish Roy.
Photos of the snake, whose scientific name is “Eryx johnii”, were shared by news agency ANI on Twitter.
“WB | Team of Belacoba forest range seized Red Sand Boa (Eryx johnii) from Darjeeling forest area arrested 4 people in connection with illegal trading. Accused identified as Arindam Sarkar, Pasang Lama Sherpa, Abavar Miya & Jagadish Ch Roy. It was scheduled for delivery to Nepal,” ANI wrote.
The snake is found in Iran, Pakistan and India and has local names such as Indian sand boa, John's sand boa, red sand boa, and brown sand boa.
The snake has immense value in the smuggling market as it is said to apparently possess healing powers and appeals to superstitious people.
The snake is also known as the mandool/mandul or du-tondya (the one having two mouths) and fetches lakhs in the illegal market. The species is protected in India under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
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