4 arrested for trying to sell red sand boa snake

India: Four men were arrested by Forest department officials for trying to illegally sell a sand boa snake on Wednesday. The arrest was made through a decoy operation which was set in motion after the Vigilance wing of the Prl. Chief Conservator of Forest (HoFF) received a complaint about the snake from reliable sources.

As part of the operation a senior official of the Vigilance wing introduced himself as an interested buyer of the sand boa snake. The official, along with others from the Anti-Poaching Squad, tried to nab the main accused Rohith red-handed along with the Sand Boa Snake on two occasions. However, Rohith did not bring the reptile to try and verify if they were genuine buyers.

On September 14, Rohith promised the Vigilance department official that he would show the sand boa. Rohith sent message to the official asking to meet at ECIL with money. The official, a DFO, kept one team consisting of Vigilance and Anti-Poaching team and another team consisting of Forest Range Officer (Kesara) and his staff at a nearby location with instructions to catch Rohith red-handed.