Forest officials on Wednesday busted an alleged inter-state snake venom racket in Odisha's Balasore district and arrested three persons, including a woman in this connection.

The forest officials also rescued 26 cobras from the smugglers.

Acting on a tip-off, forest officials raided a place called Panchapalli under Baliapal block in the district. During the raid, they also seized a few instruments like plastic jars that snake charmers use to catch venomous reptiles.

Secretary, Snake Help Line, Suvendu Mallick told reporters: "After we got the information about the alleged racket, we informed the forest officials. Later the raid took place."

"These people collected reptiles from various places in the state and later extracted venoms from them. Snake venom is sold at a high price in the market. Snakes are even being smuggled to places outside Odisha."

Mallick said: "The 26 cobras seized by the forest officials were being taken in a specially designed plastic container. There were holes in the plastic containers."

Meanwhile, forest officials have started interrogating the accused to find out from where they brought the cobras and how they used to extract their venom.

Sources said the cobra venom per gram is sold at Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000 depending on the quality of the venom. The venom is used to produce anti-venom medicines for snake bites and several other life-threatening diseases. Even it is used to produce illegal drugs, sources said.