Forest officials on Monday seized 43 live freshwater turtles at Mulijhar village under the Dalijodi Forest Range in Jajpur district and arrested a wildlife smuggler, Arjun Das.
A joint team of forest and police officials stumbled on the turtle smuggling racket When the smugglers spotted the officials, they fled from the spot abandoning two sacks containing the turtles.
Many wildlife traders and smugglers collect live turtles from local fishermen, who catch them from rivers and other water bodies in the district.
“We released all the 43 turtles into the Mahanadi at Cuttack. More people will be arrested in connection with this case. The turtles were being illegally trafficked to Kolkata,” said Dalijodi Forest Range Officer Abhiram Jena.