Over 1,500 adorable turtles were discovered in Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Sunday.
The 1,529 live turtles were wrapped in duct tape and placed inside suitcases, then abandoned by their owner at the airport. The turtles included rare and protected species like star tortoises, red-footed tortoises, sulcate tortoises and red-eared sliders.
Police said the suitcase was brought on a flight from Hong Kong to the Philippines and left unclaimed in the arrivals area. The traveler may have learned of the Philippines’ strict laws against animal smuggling which would include a fine and up to two years in jail if caught.
The Bureau of Customs NAIA wrote on Facebook: “The passenger may have been informed of the vigilance of Bureau of Customs airlines/passenger-caught-smuggling-70-birds-into-new-yorks-jfk-airport.html” target=”_self” rel=”nofollow noopener noreferrer”>against illegal wildlife trade and its penalties, thus leaving the four (4) X-Rayed luggage unclaimed in the arrival area.”
While it’s still unknown why the traveler left the turtles behind or what he intended to do with them, these reptiles have a high demand and are beloved as pets, for their meat and sometimes used in traditional medicinal practices in Asian countries.
The turtles were transferred to a monitoring unit with the Department of Environment and Natural Resource’s Wildlife Traffic Monitoring unit.
