Customs officials at Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok have seized 230 Hamilton turtles packed in four unattended suitcases that arrived on a flight from India, on May 14.
The estimated value of the seized turtles is around one million baht (currency of Thailand), although the price tag could be much more in the market. The suspects probably left the luggage over fears they could be detected by authorities. The baggage, which arrived on an IndiGo Airlines flight 6E077 from Kolkata, bore the names Hashamudd, Dantsh Zafa, Shamsad SK and Wasi Akram, and was found in the arrival area of the airport. Hamilton turtles are under protection as an endangered species by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites). Earlier in November 2013, a Pakistani national identified as Mustafa Ali was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport following the discovery of 470 black pond turtles in his four suitcases.Turtles, one of the endangered species are being smuggled for various purposes. One of them being that the fat from turtles is used as a main ingredient in cosmetics in Mexico and other countries. The involvement of Thailand, India and Hong Kong in the illegal trade in rare tortoises and freshwater turtles was highlighted earlier this year when over a thousand specimens were confiscated from smugglers in three separate seizures. These incidents raise questions on the Custom and security department of India about the screening of the baggages in India?
—Nishant Kr Azad with inputs from agencies
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