One tonne turtles seized in Odisha, 2 arrested

In one of the biggest hauls, the Forest Department on Monday busted an inter-state tortoise smuggling racket and seized around one ton of tortoises at Rajulkonda, on the Odisha- Andhra Pradesh border.

The sleuths also arrested two miscreants. 

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As per reports, the Forest Department officials were tipped off that a large number of tortoises are being smuggled from Narasinghapatna in Andhra Pradesh to Kalimela MV79 in Malkangiri. Soon, Chitrakonda ranger Banamali Nayak formed a team and intercepted a vehicle at Rajulkonda, on the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border. 

They carried out a thorough checking of the vehicle and seized tortoises weighing around one ton packed in 35 sacks.

A detailed investigation has been launched.