Inter-state snake venom racket busted in Odisha, 29 cobras rescued

Acting on the tip off, officials of Balasore forest division conducted a raid on Wednesday morning and rescued 29 cobras from the racket

The Odisha forest department officials on Wednesday busted an inter-state snake venom racket that allegedly supplied snakes to West Bengal and Bangladesh.

Forest officials said that the members of the racket used to catch snakes from different location of the state and extract venom from them. (Representative Image)

Acting on the tip off, officials of Balasore forest division conducted a raid at Panchupali village of Balasore district’s Baliapal block on Wednesday morning and rescued 29 cobras from the racket.

“The members of the racket used to catch snakes from different location of the state and extract venom from them. They used to sell these venom at a high price. The plastic containers in which the cobras were kept had holes in them so that the snakes don’t die due to lack of air. We believe many other people are involved in the racket,” said Balasore forest division assistant conservator of forest, Sovan Chand.

Suvendu Mallick, secretary of Snake Helpline said he had tipped off the forest department about the snake smuggling racket.

Two years ago, police in Deogarh district had busted a racket selling snake venom worth around ₹1.5 crore.