An employee of the Southern Train Attendants Association was caught transporting 17 turtles of species Cuora Picturata, one of the rare species of turtles listed as Critically Endangered in the Red List.

On June 3, 2021, the Traffic Police Department, in collaboration with the Railway Traffic Control Patrol Team No. 1 of the Railway Department, arrested a suspect for transporting 17 rare turtles on the railway from Da Nang to Hanoi.

Previously, at 8 pm on June 2, 2021, while on duty, the Railway Traffic Control Patrol Team No. 1 and the police at Hanoi Railway Station had discovered and examined a man with suspicious behavior.

Through examination, they found out that the man’s carton contained many turtles. The patrol team coordinated to bring this case to the Hanoi Railway Station police headquarters for further investigation.

After receiving the evidence, the functional forces carried out a physical inspection. They discovered 17 turtles inside, possibly Cuora Picturata, one of the turtles classified as critically endangered species in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The suspect confessed that he was a railway employee of the Southern Train Attendants Association and was hired to transport the turtles from Da Nang station to Hanoi station and then transport them by car to Mong Cai.

Currently, the authorities have made a record and handed over the objects and exhibits to the Dong Da District Police (Hanoi) for further handling in accordance with the law.

Source: Vietnamplus Newspaper