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The Chennai police seized around 5000 snake skins, valued at Rs 5 million in the international market, from a poacher on Thursday night.
Most of the skins belonged to the Indian cobra, Joint Commissioner of Police (North) C Sylendra Babu said on Friday.
The seizure followed a three-month long operation, with policemen posing as exporters of animal hides and approaching poachers in Andhra Pradesh.
According to Babu, the poachers, when approached, claimed to have run out of tiger skins and promised those of cobras and rat snakes.
The police have arrested the poacher, Mohammed Ali (44), a native of Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh under Section 51(1) of the Wildlife Protection Act.
Ali claimed that he had been in business for 25 years. The skins were believed to be sourced from Nagari in Andhra Pradesh, and Dindigul and Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu.
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