siliguri: The foresters of Belakoba Range under the Baikunthapur Forest division have arrested four people from the Shastri Nagar area in Siliguri with a rare species of snake — Red Sand Boa (Eryx zohnii).
The snake is in great demand in the international market for its venom, especially in Nepal, China and Korea. The market value of the snake is about Rs 1 crore.
According to the forest department sources, based on a tip-off Sanjay Dutta the Range Officer of Mobile patrolling Party-1 (MPP) along with his team raided Shastri Nagar in Siliguri in the wee hours of Tuesday and recovered the snake from the house of one Passang Lama Sherpa.
The four accused could not provide any valid document for the snake. They were
arrested as per the wildlife protection act.