Poacher held with over 300 tortoises in Uttar Pradesh

A poacher has been arrested with 335 tortoises in Uttar Pradesh's Sultanpur district, police said Saturday.

Iqbal Ahmad, 45, was nabbed late Friday from Amethi railway station, about 150 km from Lucknow, with 335 tortoises while his accomplice managed to escape during a joint operation carried out by the government railway police (GRP) of Sultanpur and Pratapgarh districts.

"Iqbal, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, has admitted that he was working for a gang involved in supplying tortoises, animals hides and antlers to various states," GRP inspector Brijesh Singh told reporters.

"Iqbal has been involved in the illegal trade for the past five years and was going to Mumbai to hand over the tortoises to his clients there," he said.

According to GRP officials, some of the tortoises were alive and handed over to the forest officials.

The officials are yet to ascertain the place from where Ahmad brought the tortoises. "He is giving different statements in this regard," said Singh.

A case under Section 9 (prohibition of hunting) and Section 49B (prohibition of animal trading) of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 has been lodged against Ahmad.

India banned the trade of tortoises under the 1972 Wildlife Protection Act, but the huge premium and lax laws are increasingly luring poachers to the trade.

Tortoises are killed for their meat and their use in preparation of some medicines, officials said.