Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Jul 18: Forest department officials busted an illegal sand boa (Indian rock python) trade network in Mangaluru and arrested four individuals, including a minor.
The arrested are Vihal H Shetty (18), a resident of Badaga Ulipady, Mangaluru; Ibrahim Shakeel Ismail (35), a pet shop owner from Ullal Munnur; Mohammad Mustafa (22), an employee of the same shop from Ullal Harekal; and a 16-year-old boy, a first PUC student from a college in Mangaluru.
The operation was carried out by the forest department team led by Mangaluru range forest officer Rajesh Baligar. Initially, Vihal was contacted by the team under the pretext of purchasing a sand boa. A meeting was arranged near the Ashwath Katte in Kadri, where Vihal agreed to sell the snake for Rs 45,000 and showed the snake to the buyers. At this point, the forest officials took him into custody.
When interrogated, Vihal claimed the snake was not his and had been given to him for sale by a minor. Acting on this information, the minor was contacted through Vihal and was apprehended near a mall.
Simultaneously, based on intelligence that a pet shop near State Bank was also involved in illegal wildlife trade, an undercover forest department official approached the shop as a customer. The shop staff called Vihal to supply a snake. Following this, a swift raid was conducted, and the shop owner and his staff member were arrested. Several star tortoises were also found in the shop and seized.
The accused were allegedly selling Indian rock pythons—classified under Schedule I, Part C of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972—as Burmese ball pythons for exotic pet trade. A case has been registered under the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that some buyers intended to keep the animals as pets and that the network extends as far as Tamil Nadu.
Further investigation will be conducted under the direction of deputy conservator of forests Anthony Mariappa and assistant conservator of forests J Clifford Lobo.