The Deogarh police busted a racket selling snake venom worth around Rs 1.5 crore at Taranga village in Deogarh district on Saturday. Two smugglers have been arrested in this connection.
The police seized a sealed container from the possession of the accused in which one litre of the venom had been stored.
The accused have been identified as Ranjan Kumar Padhi of Sakhipada and Kailash Chandra Sahu from Sindurapanka village in Sambalpur district.
Acting on an intelligence input, a special team of Deogarh police, posing as prospective buyers, raided a hideout in the village and nabbed the accused.
"We had prior information that a gang was trying to sell snake venom to buyers in the area. We tracked their movement and finally nabbed them," said a police official.
"This is for the second time such a huge quantity of snake venom has been seized in the State. The accused will be forwarded to the court soon. Further investigation into the case is underway and we are trying to go to the root of the racket," he said.
It is worthwhile to mention that earlier on March 28 this year, snake venom worth Rs 1.30 crore had been seized from Bhubaneswar and as many as six smugglers were arrested while making a deal to sell the wildlife product.
Sources said snake venom is usually used as medicine, but some people abuse it for intoxication as well.