Rajnandgaon, Dec 24 (PTI) Five people were arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle a Red Sand Boa snake in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district, forest officials said on Friday.

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The snake, a protected species under the Wildlife Protection Act, has been recovered in the operation that saw the five being apprehended on Thursday on Singola-Bangalu-Bhothipar Road when they were planning to smuggle the reptile out of the district, said Gurunathan N, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Rajnandgaon Division.

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He identified those held as Mohammad Harun, Dipak and Somesh Kumar of Rajnandgaon and Dipak Soni and Manoj Nirmalkar of neighbouring Balod and Durg districts respectively.

The receiver in the illicit transaction has not yet been identified and a probe was underway to unravel all aspects of the network, he added.

Popularly known as a two-headed snake as its round tail resembles a head, it is a 'near threatened' (NT) species and is protected under Schedule IV of Wildlife (Protection) Act.

It is much in demand in the international market for its so-called medicinal properties and also because of a belief that its possession brings good luck, officials said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)