Thane: Six arrested for smuggling snake venom in a week

Two persons were arrested from Kolhapur for allegedly selling snake venom illegaly, days after four men were caught for the crime in Thane.
On March 29, the Thane police arrested four persons who had come from Kolhapur to sell snake venom here.
They were identified as Prakash Nirmale (23), Santosh Patil (22), Ravindra Sutar (25) and Nilesh Patil (25).
Their interrogation led to the arrest of two men in Radhanagari in Kolhapur district yesterday.
The duo were identified as Sambaji Parit (26) and Amol Balasaheb Pawar (27).
According to police, snake veom is used for intoxication as well as for medicinal purposes, and fetches a high price in the international market.

Police have seized half a litre of venom worth Rs 60 lakh from the arrested persons.
Involvement of an international gang in the smuggling of this venom was suspected, said DCP Balasaheb Patil.