Snakes smuggling under the nose of forest dept officials.

In a major break through, the forest officials at Ahmedangar busted venom and illegal snake trade racket. The officials have arrested a self-proclaimed snake rescuer identified as Yusuf Khan, a resident of Paanch Peer Chavdi, Ahmednagar.
Acting on the information provided by Mumbai based Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) People in Defence of Animals (PIDA) a team of Ahmednagar forest department led by Range Forest Officer (Vigilance) DK Kapse raided the house of Yusuf Khan early morning on Tuesday.
In the initial search operation in the house forest officials seized few snakes like sand boa and tusker. But the officials got a shock of their life when it was revealed that some more snakes were kept in the basement of the house. After initial hesitation, the accused unlocked the room only to reveal 15 brown cobras and five kraits kept in boxes.
The news of the raid spread in the area like wildfire, and hundreds of people led by local corporator gathered at the house. The accused Yusuf Khan during preliminary interrogation claimed that he was supplier of Haffkine Institute and regularly supplied venom and live snakes to the institute. However, the public relations officer of the institute LS Patil could not be reached for his versions despite repeated efforts.
The situation in the area turned volatile when the forest officials seized all the snakes and arrested the accused. When the team was on its way back, local politicians intercepted the vehicle and even tried to manhandle forest officials. The founder president of PIDA Karim Khan said, “We had concrete information about the illegal trade being operated from Ahmednagar. After conducting investigations on our level, the information was passed on to the forest department officials.” There is much more into the matter than what meets the eyes. Thorough investigations can reveal a much bigger nexus of illegal venom and snake trade, Khan added. The divisional forest officer, Ahmednagar DD Gujela said, “It is definitely a serious matter. We will not leave any stone unturned to eradicate the nexus.” According to Karim Khan, the operators are involved in illegal sale of live reptiles like cobra, krait, python and even crocodile. “The cliental of the illegal snake traders is spread all over the country and even abroad. People from the cities like Mumbai, Pune and Chennai are regular clients,” Khan said. A famous film personality also possessed a python till recently. PIDA volunteers had prepared to raid the house. But the reptile was released in the forest when the information about the raid was leaked, Khan said.