The Chintoor forest officials rescued 648 Indian soft-shelled turtles while they were being illegally transported from Ravulapalem to Odisha through Chintoor forest cover in Alluri Sitaramaraju district, and arrested one person.
In an official release issued on Friday, Chintoor Divisional Forest Officer (Territorial) V. Saibaba said that the vehicle carrying 648 turtles, packed in 36 gunny bags, was seized on Thursday during a check up in Chintoor Agency and the driver, Shakar Rai, was arrested.
The forest authorities have registered a case and the investigation is on to identify the kingpin.
The turtles were later released into a waterbody. Indian soft-shelled turtle is a protected species under Schedule-1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
