Hyderabad: In a major joint operation, the special operations team (SOT) from Malkajgiri zone and the forest range officer (FRO) from Uppal, exposed an interstate tortoise smuggling racket here on Tuesday. They raided two places and arrested two persons, from whom the officials seized 281 star tortoises, 160 red-eared slider tortoises and four mobile phones, which have been valued at Rs 64 lakh.
Shaik Jani from Peerzadiguda runs the Famous Aquarium in Malkajgiri, where he sells various species, including fish and birds. The SOT team had received a tip-off about his illegal tortoise sales racket. During the raid, they discovered five star tortoises at his shop. Selling tortoises is a violation of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
When questioned, Jani, 50, revealed that he had purchased the tortoises from MD. Siraj Ahmed, 39, who runs New Shine Aquarium in Malakpet. This led to raiding Ahmed’s shop, where they found 160 red-eared slider tortoises and 281 star tortoises hidden in a secret storage area on the third floor of his shop. Ahmed admitted that he and his business friend Vijay Kumar (who is absconding), had been regularly smuggling tortoises from Andhra Pradesh to Hyderabad.
“The tortoises were sold for Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 each, depending on their size. The illegal trade involved not only Hyderabad but also other regions, including Kerala, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu,” a SOT official said.
Meanwhile, the rescued tortoises were relocated to the zoo.
According to officials, further investigations are being conducted to bust the entire smuggling network.
The accused and the seized property were handed over to the FRO Uppal. The two accused face up to seven years in prison.
