Cops seize red sand boa worth Rs 40 lakh from Thane man

A red sand boa was Tuesday seized from a rickshaw driver in Maharashtra's Thane district, with police claiming the reptile might be worth Rs 40 lakh in the illicit wildlife market.

Acting on a tip-off that three persons were planning to sell a sand boa, a Crime Branch team laid a trap on Retibunder Road on Kharigaon toll post and came across a rickshaw driver with a bag, said an official.

"The rickshaw driver has been identified as Ishtiyaque alias Javed Ahmed Sheikh (38), a resident of Sathe Nagar in Wagle Estate. We checked the bag and found a red sand boa worth Rs 40 lakh in the illegal market," he said.

An offence has been registered at Kalwa police station against Sheikh under relevant provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, the official said.

"We are probing the network of those who caught the snake and the groups that were interested in buying it," he added.