DRI officers in Lucknow seized 436 baby Indian tent turtles being illegally transported to another state. The turtles, a protected species, were being transported from Kanpur to West Bengal.
New Delhi, Dec 12 (PTI) DRI officers in Lucknow have seized 436 baby Indian tent turtles that were being illegally transported to another state, the finance ministry said on Tuesday.
The person had received the consignment of baby Gangetic turtles in Kanpur and was transporting them to West Bengal through Varanasi by road in a bus for further supply in the grey market.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officers, Varanasi, stopped and searched the bus and arrested one person in the early hours on Monday and rescued the 436 baby Indian tent turtles.
"Acting on the basis of specific intelligence developed by DRI, zonal unit, Lucknow, seized 436 baby Indian tent turtles from a person illegally transporting them interstate," the ministry said in a statement.
After the initial seizure under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the case was handed over to Forest Department, Varanasi, UP, for further investigation.
The Indian tent turtle is protected species under Schedule 1 of Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, it added.
In its effort to save the environment, in this financial year to date, DRI, Lucknow, has rescued 1,721 babies of Gangetic Turtles in five separate cases.
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