Malaysian Govt returns smuggled tortoises

Chennai, Jul 3 (UNI) Five hundred eighty star tortoises, smuggled into Kuala Lumpur, recently from South India, were returned here by the Malaysian Government by an Indian Airlines flight today.

Official sources said the consignments of tortoises were addressed to Wildlife authorities in Hyderabad via Chennai. The endangered species, was valued at Rs six lakh in the international market.

Senior officials of the Central forest department received the tortoises from airport officials and sent them later to Hyderabad.

It is reported that in Hyderabad, the tortoises would be kept in quarantine for some time to ensure that they were free from virus and parasites, before releasing them into wild, the sources said. The tortoises were being frequently smuggled, as there is a huge demand in the South-East for their reported medicinal properties, the sources added.

Talking to newspersons here, C Rajan, Airport Customs Commissioner said the tortoises were smuggled out of the country between April to May, 2007. The reptiles were smuggled in batches from Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore airports, under the guise of utensils and clothes.

Mr Rajan said the Kuala Lumpur airport authorities, who came to know about the smuggling, rescued the tortoises and kept them in quarantine for a month and returned them to India.

UNI