CHENNAI: Customs officials at Chennai airport have seized 4,998 smuggled red-eared slider turtles from Malaysia, leading to the arrest of two passengers.
According to DT NEXT, the incident occurred at midnight on Sunday (Sept 29) when customs officers detained two individuals who were found carrying plastic baskets.
The passengers, who were residents of Chennai and had travelled to Malaysia on tourist visas, initially claimed their baskets contained toys and chocolates.
However, upon further inspection, the officials discovered 4,998 live red-eared slider turtles along with 19 albino red-eared slider turtles inside the baskets.
Following this discovery, officers from the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau were summoned to the airport. Upon examination, they identified that 12 turtles in the batch were dead.
As the passengers lacked the necessary documents to legally bring the turtles into India, authorities decided to return the turtles to Malaysia.
