This absolutely sickens me.
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Indians with 960 tortoises in carry-on bags taken off flight to Singapore
MADRAS, India (AFP) Aug 27, 2003
Two Indian men who had stuffed 960 endangered tortoises into their carry-on luggage in hopes of selling them to Singapore restaurants were Wednesday taken off a flight and arrested, officials said.
The early-morning flight from the southern Indian metropolis Madras returned shortly after takeoff when the star tortoises were spotted in three handbags in the overhead compartment, wildlife warden K. Reddy told reporters.
Reddy said the star tortoises were each worth one million rupeesdollars) on the international market.
The arrested men, Mohammed Ayiah and Mohammed Arithu, confessed to having captured the star tortoises in the forests of the southern state of Andhra Pradesh and taking them by train to Madras, Reddy said.
He said the star tortoises were destined for kitchens in Singapore. Conservationists say there is also a vibrant trade in star tortoises kept as pets.
Reddy said 2,100 star tortoises have been seized at the Madras airport over the past month.
The star tortoise, which is indigenous to India and listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, gets its name from the stars on a pyramidal hump on its shell.
http://www.terradaily.com/2003/03082....jq5dtygl.html
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