Kannur, April 5 -- Forest officials arrested five individuals on Thursday for illegally possessing a two-toed sand boa (Eryx johnii), a protected species under the Wildlife Protection Act, in Payyannur, Kerala's Kannur district, according to a release from the Forest Department.

The accused, identified as Pradeepan TP (49), Bhikesh (39), Manoj M (30)--all from Trikaripur in Kannur--and T Naveen (35) and K Chandrasekharan (37) from Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh, were apprehended following a tip-off.

A team led by Taliparamba Forest Range Officer Sanoop Krishnan conducted the operation, seizing a car and a scooter used by the group.

The non-venomous snakes were reportedly brought from Andhra's Chittoor for sale in Kannur. The fores...