Chennai: Sleuths from DRI seized 447 highly endangered live turtles known as terrapin from an Audi SUV after a chase on East Coast Road. DRI officials said the value of the seized terrapins is not immediately estimated but added that the turtles are high in demand in overseas market, particularly in East Asia.
“The seizure took place near Kizha Vaippur village in Thoothukudi on the night of September 26. The DRI team arrested four persons, including mastermind Thameem Ansari of Chennai during the seizure. The 447 turtles were packed in 23 bags,” a DRI official noted.
DRI said the terrapin smugglers were planning to forward the contraband, figuring in schedule I of the wild life protection act, to Sri Lanka. They had procured the terrapins from North India and transported them by road and were planning to take them to island nation and beyond by boat. The gang had also kept the terrapins in a house in Chennai during transit.
Apart from Thameem Ansari, the DRI had also arrested M Mani, Abdul Raheem and Keyton Kumar.
The seized terrapins were handed over to the forest department. Of the 477 terrapins seized, 473 were found to be either spotted black terrapin (geoclemys hamiltoni) or sail terrapins (kachuga kachuga).
