60 tortoises seized from air passenger in Chennai

CHENNAI: Customs officials at Chennai airport on Saturday seized 60 star tortoises from a 35-year-old man who was trying to smuggle them to Bangkok on an Air Asia flight scheduled to take off at 10:20pm. Thilakar, of Tondiarpet, was carrying the tortoises in his check-in bag.

Star tortoise, an endangered species, is not allowed to be exported as it is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act. Compared to previous seizures this number is low.

The last seizure happened in February where 420 star tortoises were seized from six people who attempted to transport them to Bangkok. The tortoises were kept in sachets and covered in carbon or graphite papers to prevent detection by baggage scanners. Investigations revealed that they were delivering the consignment in return for money. In one of the biggest catches, air customs had seized 9,000 baby tortoises from a passenger who arrived from Kuala Lumpur in March last year. There have been four major wildlife seizures including star tortoises and ornamental fish since 2007.