A 42-year-old Indian national was sentenced to a 16-month imprisonment Friday for smuggling 190 endangered turtles through Singapore on Jan. 7. An additional three months were added for animal cruelty. Both sentences will run concurrently.
Investigations reveal the suspect had been approached by a friend to deliver the turtles to Indonesia, where they would be passed to an unknown man. The suspect then lined the three luggage bags with diapers and cloth to absorb the waste excreted by the turtles and took a flight from Dhaka International Airport in Bangladesh.
However, Certis Cisco aviation security officers discovered the live turtles at the Singapore Changi Airport, where the man and his luggage were in transit to Surabaya, Indonesia.
The turtles were found severely dehydrated and very poor condition and were sent to the Wildlife Reserves Singapore to be monitored. But all 190 died or had to be put down “due to welfare considerations”, according to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA).
The creatures were identified to be Black Pond turtles or Geoclemys hamiltonii, which are critically endagered species protected under the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). International trade of these turtles is prohibited.
The 190 Black Pond turtles are estimated to cost about $100,000.
