Man held with rare Indian star tortoises in Mumbai

MUMBAI, (PTI): A 33-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly smuggling 20 rare Indian star tortoises in the western suburb of Borivali here, police said on Tuesday.

Acting on a tip-off, the police laid a trap and nabbed the accused from Ganpat Patil Nagar area on Monday, an official from MHB police station said.

At least 20 Indian star tortoises, worth Rs 3.5 lakh, were seized from the man, who had come to deliver the rare reptiles for sale, he said.

The accused has been arrested under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act and a probe is underway to find out from where the accused had sourced the reptile and track down his customer, the official added.

The Indian star tortoise (Geochelone elegans), is marked as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and has the highest level of protection under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. (PTI)