A wildlife official reported on Thursday ( Jul 4 ) that Malaysian authorities have rescued hundreds of smuggled tortoises intended for sale in Southeast Asia, breaking the” Ninja Turtle Gang,” an international crime organization.
400 tortoises for US$ 805, 084 were seized on Saturday during an operation by the officers and wildlife officials, according to Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim, director-general of the wildlife and national parks division.
Across Asia, some believe that reptiles bring good luck and success.
According to Abdul Kadir, this is the largest seizure to occur in the past ten years. After native need was satisfied, the reptiles were going to be sold on to Thailand and Indonesia.
He said the reptiles were believed to have been smuggled from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.
The combined activity, codenamed” United National Resource”, crippled the turtle smuggling ring known as the” Ninja Turtle Gang”, he said.
A vehicle chase led to the arrest of the smuggler’s driver of the vehicle.
The driver then led the law enforcement personnel to a place where unique three-keeled land turtles and American star tortoises were kept.
The American star tortoise’s commercial trade was prohibited in 2019.
According to Abdul Kadir, Malaysia is a gateway for the trafficking of these unique species because of its strategic area in Southeast Asia.
He claimed that traffickers on commercial airlines bring the tortoises into Malaysia improperly by road or in suitcases.
A habitat NGO called Traffic has recently stated that Southeast Asian nations “accompress as source, buyer, and as entrepots for wildlife emanating from within the area as well as the rest of the world.”