Mumbai: Two arrested for smuggling rare snake worth Rs 20 lakh

Officials from Unit 12 of the Crime Branch laid a trap and caught 27-year-old Malwani resident Salman Mubarak Ali and Pandurang Pangam (40) of Nallasopara.

The police said the duo was waiting for a buyer to hand over the snake to. “The accused had struck a deal with a buyer for Rs 20 lakh. We arrested the men before the buyer could reach the spot to make the exchange,” said a Crime Branch officer.

According to the police, Ali works in the back office of a leading software firm in the city while Pangam is currently unemployed. “We are investigating where the men procured the snake from and who they planned to sell it to,” the officer added.

The red sand boa, which is indigenous to the Indian subcontinent, is sold illegally on a large scale as there is a thriving superstition that the snake, which appears to have two heads, has medicinal properties. Certain body parts of the snakes are also believed to bring luck when used in rituals.

The police are also investigating whether the snake was to be flown by the buyer to South East Asia where demand for the reptiles is high.