India News | DRI Officers Seize 436 Baby Turtles for Illegal Inter-state Transportation
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. 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.
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.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)