237 Turtles Worth Rs One Crore Recovered By GRP In Varanasi, Were Being Smuggled For Potency-Enhancing Drugs

Varanasi, February 5 (TNA) 237 tortoises worth Rs 1 crore have been recovered from the Cantt station. Cantt GRP recovered eight bags full of turtles from the Malda Town train. It is suspected that turtles were being smuggled to make performance-enhancing medicines.

Cantt GRP recovered 237 turtles from the Anand Vihar-Malda Town train on Sunday. The value of the turtles recently recovered from eight unclaimed bags has been estimated at Rs 1 crore in the international market. At the same time, GRP is investigating the network of smugglers. It is suspected that turtles were being smuggled to make tantra mantras and powerful medicines.

CO GRP Kunwar Prabhat Singh said that eight bags were found unclaimed in the S-2 and S-3 bogies of train number 13430 going to Anand Vihar-Malda Town. Turtles were found in all the bags. GRP Inspector Hemant Singh said that during the interrogation of the passengers of the bogie, it was found that the bag was kept at some station after Hapur. The recovered tortoise was handed over to the Forest Department team.

According to the Forest Department and GRP, the recovered tortoise was being smuggled to West Bengal. Some of the turtles recovered were of special species. Turtles are found in rivers and ponds like Yamuna, Indus, Kwari, around Etawah and Chambal in western UP. From here they are being smuggled across the country. In UP, a tortoise can be easily bought for Rs 50 to 100.

When transported to West Bengal, they are sold for five hundred to one thousand rupees. From West Bengal, it is smuggled and sold at high prices to many countries including China, Thailand, and Bangkok. The price of a live turtle is high. At the same time, turtles are also used in potency-enhancing medicines. Because of this, their demand increases further.