Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) intercepted one person who had arrived at Trichy International Airport on November 24 from Guangzhou (China) via Colombo (Sri Lanka), while he was attempting to smuggle live species viz. China Pond tortoises.
China Pond tortoises are a prohibited item under Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2015-2020.
An official statement on Tuesday in this regard said that examination of passenger's checked-in baggage resulted in the detention of 2829 of China Pond tortoises found to be concealed in cookies packets and wheat flour packets.
"The red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans), also known as the red-eared terrapin, red-eared turtle, and water slider turtle, is a semi-aquatic turtle belonging to the family Emydidae. It is a subspecies of the pond slider," the statement said.
The import of this species is prohibited in terms of the provisions of Customs act.
The statement informed that DRI has handed over the said tortoises to the concerned airlines for being re-exported to China as these are not covered under CITES or Wildlife Protection Act.
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