2 passengers from Bangkok held at Mumbai airport with 12 exotic turtles

The turtles were cleverly hidden inside rectangular plastic boxes, which were concealed between the food packets kept inside the trolley bags carried by the passengers, a Customs official said.

As per the officials from the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, Western Region, Navi Mumbai, these smuggled turtles include eight Japanese Pond Turtles (Mauremys japonica) and four Scorpion Mud Turtle or Red Cheek Mud Turtle (Kinosternon scorpioides).

All the turtles are listed in the Appendix-Il of the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) and Schedule IV of the newly amended Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

The exotic turtles were handed over to the airline’s staff for deportation to their country of origin, the Customs officer said.

The passengers have been arrested as per the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, and Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

The investigators are trying to find out more details of their handlers or groups who roped them in for smuggling, a source said.