Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network—Mangalore (RS/CN)
 
Mangalore, Feb 3:  Kavoor police headed by sub-inspector Ananth Padmanabh and his team arrested two people on Tuesday February 2, from a house in Panjimogaru.

The duo were in possession of seven tortoises of rare Indian species and three double-headed red sand boa snakes, which they had domesticated for selling in the international market for Rs 1 crore. 
 

The arrested are Dinakara (35), resident of Shakthinagar, and Vishwanath Pandith (45) resident of Panjimogaru. They revealed to the police that they were waiting for the domesticated snakes to grow four kilogrammes in order to get this price.  
 
Of the seven tortoises, five are Indian black tortoises and two are Indian flap-shelled tortoises.    
 
The reptiles were domesticated at the home of Vishwanath in Panjimogaru. The police team conducted an operation to arrest the persons and seized the tortoises and snakes following a tip-off. The accused were booked under the Wildlife Protection Act.
 
Assistant sub-inspector Suresh, head constable Aithappa, constable Ravichandra, and Prakash Murthy also participated in the operation.