Hundreds of tortoises found in suitcases at Kuala Lumpur Airport

Customs officers at Kuala Lumpur International Airport displayed a hoard of live endangered tortoises which had been cached in suitcases in an apparent smuggling racket. Some 330 of the small reptiles - ploughshare and Indian star tortoises - were shown in a series of suitcases which Indonesian customs officials said had been flown in from Madagascar a day earlier, listed on the flight manifest as 'stones'. The tortoises were valued at 1.2 million Ringgit ($277.000), an official said. Malaysia is a major transit point for the trade in endangered species to other Asian countries.