A joint team of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) recovered 48 live turtles from Howrah-Dehradun (13010 Doon Express) train, officials said on Friday. But the smugglers were still out of reach as in the last two recoveries within a week.
The recovered turtles, with an estimated value of ₹24 lakh in international markets, were safely handed over to the forest department, officials said.
During a joint patrol being conducted on Gaya Ji railway station premises on Saturday night under RPF inspector Banarsi Yadav, Crime Intelligence Branch inspector Chandan Kumar and sub-inspector Rajnitik Prasad of GRP Gaya, railway police searched coach S-7 of train no. 13010 DN (Doon Express) arrived at platform no 2 at around 10.25pm.
Two plastic bags of white and yellow colour were found concealed beneath the berths. On checking, a total of 48 turtles were found in the bag. The passengers sitting nearby expressed ignorance about the recovered turtles, RPF inspector Banarsi Yadav said.
The forest department was informed and the 48 turtles were handed over to Range Officer Arti Kumari for further action.
The turtle was a protected species under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and its poaching and smuggling is a non-bailable offence inviting imprisonment up to seven years in jail, Gaya Ji divisional forest officer (DFO) Shashi Kant Kumar said.
{{/usCountry}}The turtle was a protected species under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and its poaching and smuggling is a non-bailable offence inviting imprisonment up to seven years in jail, Gaya Ji divisional forest officer (DFO) Shashi Kant Kumar said.
{{/usCountry}}The turtles fished out by wildlife smugglers from Ganga and Chambal rivers, were sent to international markets through Kolkata where those are in high demand for anti-aging and stimulating drugs and cosmetic items. The smugglers got ₹50,000 to 1,00,000 for each turtle, officials said on condition of anonymity.
The wildlife smugglers were using the DDU-Gaya rail route for safe transporting of the turtles which is evident from the regular recoveries.
On Friday, the RPF had recovered 102 live turtles from S-2 coach of the same 13010 DN (Doon Express) train. Earlier on Monday, the RPF had recovered 76 live turtles from the general coach of Netaji Express. But no smuggler could be arrested during all the three recoveries.