Nagpur: MIDC police have seized huge quantity of snake venom valued at lakhs of rupees from a car and arrested 
two people in this connection on late Monday night.
Sources hinted at the larger racket operational into smuggling of venom from forested areas to the upmarkets where it is sold at very high prices. The seized venom was reportedly extracted from Cobra and Russel Viper snakes.
Acting on a tip-off that some persons would be arriving at NOGA Company near Hingna Post with snake venom, a team of MIDC cops, led by API S S Gaekwad, rushed to the spot and surrounded a white-coloured Innova car (MH-31/CV 7319). The cops asked the two occupants of the car to come out and identify themselves. The two accused reveled their names as Gopal Singh Ren Singh Gaur (33), resident of Swastik Apartment, Hudkeshwar and Roshan Girdhar Amrutwar (19), native of Tadodi Balapur, District Chandrapur. Upon frisking of the car, the cops found a box containing five test tube-like bottles filled with thick sticky fluid in white and brown. When confronted, the two accused revealed the fluid as venom drawn from different species of snakes. The said venom was in the form of sample to be shown to the party that was purchasing the deadly stuff.
The cops have seized the 25 ml snake venom, the Innova car worth Rs 10 lakh, and placed the accused duo under arrest. Both the accused have been booked under Sections 41(1)(A)(D) of CrPC. The seized snake venom has been handed over to the concerned Forest Range Officer, Hingna, Nagpur for further action.
The task was accomplished by MIDC API S S Gaekwad, ASI Ramesh Tayade, constable Pappu Yadav, police sepoys Ashish Dubey, Sushil Shrivastav, Dinesh Jugnaharke under the guidance of DCP Zone 1, ACP and Senior PI Sunil Mahadik.
The members of Vidarbha Sarp Mitra Committee also assisted the cops during the operation.
Sources said the crime has its roots in Saoner, 35 kms off Nagpur. Police are probing further as it suspected more consignment hidden somewhere.
