Five persons arrested for attempting to sell sand boa in Vellore

Forest Department arrests five for attempting to sell protected sand boa in Vellore, leading to legal action and snake rescue

The Forest Department arrested five persons for attempting to sell a sand boa at Agaram village at the foothills of the Jawadhu Hills in Vellore on Friday. The sand boa is a non-venomous snake and a protected species.

Forest Department officials identified the arrested persons as V. Sukeran, 50; K. Raja, 40; S. Kuppan, 49; B. Krishnan, 40; and N. Guna, 45. While Sukeran and Raja belong to Agaram in the Anaicut panchayat union, Kuppan belongs to Ambur in Tirupattur district. The other two are from the Gudiyatham taluk in Vellore.

Except Guna, who is an assistant at the Pakkam village panchayat in Gudiyatham, the others are farmers. “Based on a tip-off, we nabbed them while they were trying to sell the snake. In May 2023, we seized a sand boa from the house of a farmer who got it from his farmland,” Forest Range Officer (Odugathur) S. Indu told The Hindu.

Initial inquiries revealed that Raja found the sand boa, which weighed 1.9 kg, on his farmland a week ago. He and Sukeran decided to sell it for a high price. Along with the three others, they fixed the rate at ₹4 crore. The prospective buyers were told to come to the foothills of the Jawadhu Hills where a team of Forest Department officials, led by Ms. Indu, intercepted them.

Cases were booked against them under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, and they were lodged at the Central Prison in Vellore. The snake was rescued and released in the Sanakuppam reserve forest.

Forest Department officials said the tail of this snake is as thick as its body, and the snake has a life span of 15-20 years. It can grow up to 20 inches. The snake goes for a very high price on the black market because of the myths surrounding it.