Police said yesterday they had recovered more than 6,000 freshwater turtles weighing over four tonnes from poachers who planned to smuggle them to Southeast Asia, in the country’s largest-ever wildlife haul.
The 6,430 flapshell turtles were discovered stuffed into 140 jute bags in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday.
“Wildlife authorities confirmed that this is the largest haul in the country’s wildlife history, both in terms of number and weight – 4.4 tonnes,” Arvind Chaturvedi, head of the state’s Special Task Force that rescued the turtles, said.
Indian flapshell turtles are not particularly rare but are a protected species under the Wildlife Protection Act.
Chaturvedi said police had arrested the “kingpin” and were likely to make further arrests.
He said the poachers had filled half a truck with the turtles to take them to Kolkata, from where they were to be transported illegally to China, Hong Kong, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Bangladesh.
Their meat is considered an aphrodisiac while the bones are powdered for use in traditional medicine and soups.
Turtles recovered after a foiled smuggling operation bask in the sun at the forestry department in Gauriganj village near Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, yesterday.
