Bhubaneswar: As many as 351 Indian Tent Turtles were rescued by the officials of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at Manguli toll plaza in Cuttack while being trafficked to Karnataka on NH 16.
On a tip off, the DRI sleuths conducted surveillance at the toll plaza and found the turtles being transported in a ‘Tata Tiago’ vehicle with three passengers inside. The vehicle came from West Bengal.
On being questioned, the passengers informed that they were transporting the creatures from West Bengal to Karnataka.
The DRI team rescued the turtles and immediately handed them over to the Forest officials.
Three persons along with their vehicle were detained for investigation. The Forest department launched an investigation
The Indian Tent Turtle is listed in Schedule–I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and is thereby provided the highest degree of protection.
