12 turtles stuffed in tiffin boxes seized at Mumbai airport

Mumbai: The Mumbai Customs seized 12 turtles stuffed in tiffin boxes from two passengers at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, an official said on Tuesday.

The customs intercepted two Indian passengers late on Monday night and found the reptiles inside tiffin boxes inside a trolley bag full of food packets, the official from the forest department said.

He said the reptiles, which were severely dehydrated and distressed, were handed over to wildlife rescue experts from RAWW (Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare) for temporary custody.

The two passengers were arrested, he said.

The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau has issued deportation orders as per provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, and turtles will soon be sent back to the country they were smuggled from, the official said.

The seized reptiles are red-cheeked mud turtles and Japanese pond turtles, listed in Appendix Two of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and Schedule Four of the Wildlife Protection Act, said Pawan Sharma, founder and president of RAWW and honorary wildlife warden with the forest department.