Mumbai: Man held for allegedly smuggling 20 rare Indian star tortoises

A 33-year old man has been arrested for allegedly smuggling 20 rare Indian star tortoises in the Western suburb of Borivali here. 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.

Maharashtra | Mumbai police arrested an accused identified as Nadeem Shaikh from near Borivali link road who was trying to smuggle a rare tortoise of Star Back species. Police recovered 20 rare species tortoises worth Rs 3.5 lakhs from his possession. pic.twitter.com/kb5qkVUHSF

— ANI (@ANI) December 13, 2022