Father-son duo in custody for smuggling turtles

Mumbai: A father-son duo, who was arrested by Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) for smuggling 200 star turtles, was sent to judicial custody till July 12. The turtles, which were smuggled by the duo, were worth Rs 20 lakh. The two are currently lodged in Kalyan jail. The WCCB also suspects that more people from Balegowdanahalle village in Karnataka are involved in smuggling of turtles.

40-year-old Sagiram along with his 27-year-old son Vijay was arrested on Monday after the officials from the WCCB laid a trap at Kalyan station. The duo was caught while smuggling star turtles. The two were produced in Kalyan magistrate court on Wednesday and have been granted judicial custody. The WCCB officials acted after Karnataka Forest Department (KFD) gave travel details of the accused to them.

After receiving the tip-off, a team of an anti-poaching unit of state forest department and WCCB officials laid a trap at Kalyan station and caught the duo.

M. Maranko, regional director (Western region), WCCB said, “We suspect that other villagers are involved and we are probing the matter.” Explaining the motive smuggling of star turtles, Mr Maranko said, “The locals indulge in the illegal smuggling as they can sell turtles in the city and gain huge profit. The duo is a habitual offender. They were arrested by the Karnataka Forest Department in 2015 for a similar offence. However, they were later released on bail. A team of WCCB along with KFD will visit the village to find out where the turtles were being dispatched from and how is the entire nexus operating.”

Indian star tortoise is a protected species under Schedule IV of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Each turtle costs approximately Rs 10,000 in the international market.