Raigad cops bust gang for illegal sale of snake venom

Mumbai: The Raigad police has busted an inter-state gang which illegally sold snake venom, and seized 850 ml of the liquid worth Rs 1.70 crore. The police apprehended two accused from Mandwa jetty after they travelled there from Mumbai and seized the venom in their possession.

When they were questioned, they revealed the identity of two others from Gujarat and Rajasthan who had given them the venom for selling.

The arrested accused have been identified as Rajaram Jaiswar (46) and Udaynath Jaiswar (37), both residents of Malad who were intercepted by a Raigad police team soon after they stepped out of the Mandwa jetty Tuesday.

The officials had specific information on the duo who would be arriving via boat at Mandwa with snake venom on their person.

“Based on the description of the accused persons, constable J.A. Shaikh identified them and the team caught them. 850ml venom was found inside a mineral water bottle and its market value was ascertained to be Rs 1.70 crore,” said Kundan Gawade, Raigad police spokesperson.

The officials said that the accused had procured the venom from other persons identified as Devilal Joshi (36) and Santoshkumar Singh (35) from Valsad in Gujarat.

A team of Raigad police tracked down the duo and rushed to Gujarat to apprehend them. It later came to the fore that the duo had given the venom to the Jaiswars who were allegedly trying to sell it.

The officials are investigating as to whom the duo was planning to meet at Mandwa and trying to identify further links in the alleged inter-state racket. The officials are also probing the quantity of venom sold by the accused persons caught from Gujarat.

A case has been registered under sections 284 and 34 (acts of common intention) along with relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act and Poison Act, and the accused have been remanded to police custody till Monday for further investigation.