DHAKA: In a huge catch, officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Vijayawada Unit, busted an international star tortoises smuggling racket on Tuesday. They seized 406 tortoises being exported to Bangladesh. Officials suspect that the tortoises are being exported through the Paradeep Port in Odisha. Star tortoises are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and declared vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). On a tip-off that they were being transported in the Vivek Express, the DRI team headed by its Deputy Director V. Ramakrishna and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) conducted a search in the railway station and recovered the tortoises packed in sacks.
They arrested two women who were carrying the four sacks. The Forest Department officials of the Eluru Wildlife Division, who inspected the spot, confirmed that they were Indian star tortoises. “The accused were transporting the tortoises from Kadiri to Bhubaneswar. Export of star tortoises is prohibited under Foreign Trade Policy and is liable for confiscation under the Customs Act, 1962.
