1,500 turtles seized; 3 arrested

Forest personnel seized around 1,500 turtles and arrested three people for illegally transporting the animals in Odisha's Malkangiri district on Sunday.

Acting on a tip-off, a team of Forest personnel intercepted a van at MPV-65 village under Kalimela forest range area and seized the freshwater turtles, said Divisional Forest Officer (Malkangiri), Samrat Gouda.

The animals were smuggled from Andhra Pradesh (AP). One among the three arrested belongs to Kakinada, AP, Gouda said  adding that the van bearing Andhra Pradesh registration number was also seized

The turtles - whose markert demand is high- were being sent to traders in Malkangiri for sale, Forest officials said adding the arrested were booked under various provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and further investigation was on.

The turtles were released at a waterbody nearby.

Earlier, over 350 rare species of turtles, also smuggled from Andhra Pradesh, had been seized in Chitrakonda area of Malkangiri district in June, 2017.