South Asia
BSF seize rare turtles at border
BSF today said the value of those rare species would be approximately Rs. 1 crore 11 lakh in the international market.
It said the seizure on Thursday followed a special operation planned on the basis of a specific intelligence input regarding smuggling of rare Asian black spotted turtles from India to Bangladesh.
BSF troops of BOP Kalanchi, 152 Bn laid an ambush to trap smugglers. They noticed movement of persons carrying two big cloth bags while moving towards Bangladesh.
When BSF troops challenged them, they dropped the bags and fled towards Bangladesh taking advantage of fog and darkness in the night. The BSF party searched the area thoroughly and recovered two big cloth-wrapped bags from spot. When they checked it, they found that total 185 turtles were inside
BSF authorities immediately informed forest department officials as well as Bangaon customs office to hand over the turtles.
Later, the forest department officials identified the species as the rare Asian black spotted turtles, an Indian species which are in great demand in international market.