The customs staff noticed a piece of luggage moving and made a horrible discovery.
When they opened it, the inside of the suitcase sprang to life.
It was filled with tortoises.
The shocking discovery was made at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia. Smugglers had hid hundreds of live, rare tortoises in several suitcases, according to ABC News.
In total, customs found 330 tortoises, at an estimated value of $277,000 USD on the black market.
The tortoises, which require special permits to enter the country and were marked as stones on the flight manifest, arrived in Malaysia from Madagascar.
Of the tortoises, 325 were Indian Star tortoises, a threatened species found in India and Sri Lanka. The remaining five were plowshare tortoises, a critically endangered species found in Madagascar.
Almost all the tortoises were alive and were able to be saved. However, no arrests have yet been made.
Every year, smugglers earn massive profits selling rare endangered animals around the world. So if you’re on vacation abroad, think twice about what you bring home. You don’t want to support the illegal trade of animals and plants.
We must put an end to the illegal trade of animals.
Please share if you also think that animal smuggling is completely unacceptable!
Published by Animal Bible. Please like.
