96 turtles seized, one arrested

Wildlife officials have seized 96 live fresh water turtles from a town in Orissa and arrested one person.

Wildlife officials have seized 96 live fresh water turtles from a town in Orissa and arrested one person on charges of smuggling them, police said on Saturday.

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Acting on a tip off, a police team caught the man with the reptiles at Pipili town, some 20 km away, in Orissa Friday evening, inspector in charge of the Pipili police station Amulya Kumar Champatiray told IANS.

"They were live turtles of different shapes and sizes. They were kept in three bags," he said. "We caught the man when he was waiting for a bus."

The arrested man, Durgasankar Mana, is a resident of Midnapore area of West Bengal and wanted to take the turtles to his state, Champatiray said.