Three held with rare snakes in Bengal

Three people were arrested Tuesday and two Red Sand Boa snakes seized from them in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district, a forest official said.

Baikunthapur Divisional Forest Officer Dharmdeo Rai said the trio was nabbed from near the national highway 31.

Booked under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, the accused will be produced in a court Wednesday.

Considered to be a lucky mascot and rumoured to carry Iridium in their scales, the snakes are in huge demand in the black market.