REFUGEE

PUNE: A small-time Tamil and Telgu actor C. Manoharan alias Snakemanu and his accomplice N.T. Srinivasulu were arrested on Tuesday with a

consignment of crocodiles and snakes at the Nizamuddin railway station in Delhi.

Acting on a tip off, the National Wildlife Crime Control Bureau and the New Delhi Crime Branch arrested the suspects. They were to deliver two alligators, one cobra and three vine snakes to international buyers.

The crocodiles were being sold at $ 2,000 each and the snakes for $ 500 each.

It was as a joint operation by the People for Animals (PFA) Delhi and the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI).

Manoj Oswal, Pune-based animal welfare officer of the AWBI told TOI that a week ago he got the information that a buyer had come to Asia to buy wild animals. One of the rivals of the buyer gave the details of the consignment.

Later, it was confirmed that a consignment of four snakes and two alligators will be delivered to a buyer in Delhi. The actor and his accomplice would deliver this consignment from Chennai to Delhi, Oswal said.

"Immediately after getting the information, I contacted Maneka Gandhi MP. Accordingly, a trap was laid at the Nizamuddin railway station by the crime branch and the wildlife crime control bureau,'' Oswal said.