The Red Sand Boa is a rare non-poisonous snake and is used to make medicines, cosmetics and in black magic, hence, is in demand globally.
The STF officials said one Red Sand Boa snake fetches several lakh rupees internationally.
They said this snake is protected under Schedule IV of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and was included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species in 2021.
Those arrested on Tuesday were identified as two Gorakhpur residents — Om Prakash Singh and Mohd Saifudeen, a Varanasi resident Ram Shankar Maurya and an Azamgarh resident Raja Ram Yadav.
–IANS
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