557 turtles seized at Dhaka airport

Customs officials yesterday seized 557 turtles kept in five luggage at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the capital.

The people carrying the luggage fled the scene, SM Sohel Rahman, joint commissioner of customs at the airport, told The Daily Star.

Those were handed over to the forest department which said the turtles were being smuggled to Vietnam from India.

Forest officials say that wildlife traffickers have been using Dhaka as a transit point.