The Wildlife Crime Control Unit (WCCU) of the Forest Department conducted a daylong operation in various areas of Chandpur district, South-central part of Bangladesh, rescued 300 endangered turtles from Wildlife trafficking racket on December 30.
The turtles belong to three endangered species: Sundhi Turtle, Kori Kaitta, and Yellow Turtle, with a total weight of 280 kilograms.
Confirming the recovery, Ashim Mallik, Wildlife Inspector of WCCU, told The Climate Watch, “After recovering a record number of turtles on December 10, we deployed sources to track the wildlife smuggling racket. Based on information provided by our sources, we conducted a daylong drive in four spots across two upazilas ( sub-districts) in Chandpur on Monday and managed to recover a total of 280 kilograms of turtles. All the turtles are alive.”
“Our preliminary investigation revealed that an unscrupulous group had been secretly conducting this illegal trade under the guise of dealing in eels for a long time. They collect these turtles from various water bodies across the country and smuggle them to India,” Inspector Ashim added.
“The rescued turtles will be released into natural water bodies. Legal proceedings are underway against those involved in the trafficking,” he added further.
It is worth mentioning that the WCCU rescued nearly 1,000 endangered turtles, weighing approximately 800 kilograms, during a raid on a warehouse on Kalibari Road in Shahrashti, Chandpur, on December 10. That operation marked the largest-ever rescue of endangered freshwater turtles in the history of the unit.
