Seven venomous snakes were recovered from the possession of a man at a village in Howrah’s Shyampur block on Thursday night.

The 60-year-old man, identified as Sk Samsad Ali, was arrested and sent to jail.

Foresters identified the snakes as monocled cobras (Naja kaouthia). “An airgun was also found. Ali claimed to be a snake charmer,” said Raju Sarkar, the divisional forest officer of Howrah.

“Many snakes enter domestic areas during the monsoon. The man had apparently asked local residents to inform him whenever they spotted a snake,” said Suvrajyoti Chatterjee of Human and Environment Alliance League, an NGO that helped the foresters track Ali.

Volunteers from a forum of environmental activists based in Howrah were tracing Ali, said Chatterjee.

“Ali was apparently hired for the maintenance of a local water body by its owner. The airgun found on him also belonged to the water body’s owner. We are questioning that person for further details,” said a local forest officer.