197 live turtles seized, 2 wildlife smugglers nabbed in Uttar Pradesh’s Etawah

Etawah (Uttar Pradesh): The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has arrested two members of an inter-state wildlife smuggling syndicate and recovered 197 live turtles from their possession in Etawah district, officials confirmed on Wednesday.

The arrests took place on Tuesday, with the accused identified as Rakesh Kashyap from Bareilly district and Mukeshwala from Udham Singh Nagar district in Uttarakhand, according to a statement released by the STF.

Acting on specific intelligence inputs regarding the smuggling of internationally banned turtle species, the STF team laid a trap near Nagla Karnai on the Kusmara–Saurikh road under Kishni police station limits in Mainpuri district around 11:30 pm on Tuesday.

During the check, the team intercepted a silver car and recovered 197 live turtles packed in five jute sacks.

Two of the occupants, identified as Ashok and Kalicharan, both residents of Uttarakhand, managed to escape, officials said.

During interrogation, the arrested accused revealed that they had been collecting turtles from Etawah, Mainpuri, and Firozabad districts at low prices and transporting them to Sitarganj, Uttarakhand, to sell them at higher rates.

The seized turtles and the arrested accused have been handed over to the Forest Department, Mainpuri Division, for further legal action under relevant sections of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and the Indian Forest Act.

The STF said efforts are on to trace and arrest the two absconding members of the smuggling gang.

PTI