Rare turtle smuggling stopped at Moscow Domodedovo airport

Customs officers stopped the smuggling of 476 rare Central Asian turtles found in the luggage of a Russian citizen at Domodedovo airport.

This was reported by the press service of the Federal Customs Service (FTS) of Russia.

"Customs officers of the Central Operational and Domodedovo customs stopped the smuggling of 476 rare Central Asian turtles at Domodedovo airport. A Russian citizen attempted to illegally import the land reptiles worth more than 3 million rubles from Tajikistan," the statement said.

It is noted that the man was stopped in the green corridor with two boxes of live cargo. The agency reported that he had no permits for the reptiles. "The violator admitted that he planned to sell the turtles through online stores; this batch was only a trial one," the statement said.

The FTS recalled that the Central Asian steppe tortoise is protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The seized reptiles have been transferred to the rare animal breeding center of the Moscow Zoo, the agency said.

A criminal case has been opened under part 1 of article 226.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (smuggling of especially valuable wild animals). The article provides for up to five years of imprisonment.

Source: TASS