"Suspicious Behavior"... Chinese Attempt to Smuggle 400 Endangered Turtles

Net Containing 454 Baby Turtles Discovered

A man from mainland China residing in Macau was caught attempting to enter the country while hiding hundreds of endangered turtles.

According to the state-run China Central Television (CCTV) on the 20th, the Gongbei Entry-Exit Office in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, recently found the behavior of a man coming from Macau suspicious and inspected his belongings.

As a result, six nets containing 454 baby turtles were found in the bag he was carrying and in his pants pockets.

After expert appraisal, customs authorities confirmed that the turtles were rare species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), including 175 tiger-patterned musk turtles, 103 razor-backed musk turtles, and 97 giant musk turtles.

Endangered turtles caught in a net. [Image source=China Central Television·Yonhap News]

Footage of the incident shows that the turtles were generally about the size of a finger joint. This allowed the man to hide hundreds of turtles in his bag and pants pockets.

The man in question is a worker named Yan (嚴) who crossed from China to Macau for work. It is known that he had a previous record of being caught illegally smuggling others' goods for money. Customs authorities are investigating Yan in detail regarding his motives and the exact circumstances of the case.

A Gongbei Entry-Exit Office official stated, "Unless one possesses export-import certificates according to regulations and goes through formal customs procedures, the import of endangered animals and plants is strictly prohibited," adding that those caught smuggling illegally cannot avoid criminal responsibility.

This is not the first case of attempted turtle smuggling. In June 2019, two Indians were caught at an airport trying to secretly bring about 5,000 baby turtles into Malaysia. They were caught during baggage inspection, and the 32 small boxes they carried contained 5,255 baby turtles. They stated that they intended to take the baby turtles to India to sell them.