A wildlife official announced on Thursday that Malaysian police had broken up an international criminal organization known as the “Ninja Turtle Gang” by saving hundreds of smuggled tortoises that were intended for sale in Southeast Asia.
400 tortoises valued at 3.8 million ringgit ($805,084) that were headed for the lucrative exotic pet trade were captured on Saturday during an operation by police and wildlife officials, according to Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim, director-general of the department of wildlife and national parks.
Many people in Asia think that tortoises are lucky and prosperous. “This is the largest seizure in the last ten years,” Abdul Kadir told AFP, noting that when local demand was satisfied, the reptiles would be transferred to Thailand and Indonesia.
According to him, the tortoises were trafficked from Bangladesh, Nepal, India, and Pakistan.
He said that the joint operation, known by the codename “United National Resource,” severely damaged the “Ninja Turtle Gang,” a tortoise smuggling network.
The operation included a car pursuit that resulted in the arrest of the driver of a car believed to be used for smuggling.
The driver then took the law enforcement officers to a place where rare Indian star tortoises and three-keeled land turtles were housed. In 2019, the Indian star tortoise’s commercial trade was outlawed.
“The strategic location of Malaysia in Southeast Asia makes the country a hub for the smuggling of these exotic species,” Abdul Kadir said. The tortoises are illegally brought into Malaysia by road or in suitcases by smugglers aboard commercial flights, he said.
Traffic, a wildlife NGO, has previously said that Southeast Asian countries “function as source, consumer and as entrepots for wildlife originating from within the region as well as the rest of the world”.
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