The police, which was trying to clear the road of a traffic jam in Mirganj police station area, got suspicious when the ambulance tried to somehow move ahead and when they stopped it two smugglers fled, SSP Satyavir Singh said.
On checking, six bags with 450 tortoises, of whom 50 had died, were found in the ambulance, the SSP said, adding, the driver was being interrogated to elicit information about the smugglers and a case has been lodged.
It is believed that the tortoises were being taken to West Bengal via Delhi, the SSP added.
