Two Men Arrested for Illegally Transporting Turtles

Two Vietnamese men were arrested in Kandal province for attempting to illegally transport 44 wild turtles from Cambodia to Vietnam through a remote border crossing on Friday, police said.

Hong Sokly, police chief of Sampov Puon commune in Koh Thom district, where the duo was apprehended, said the men were arrested at about midnight near the border.

“We arrested them while they were carrying the turtles in plastic bags and trying to cross the border to Vietnam at a quiet area in Cambodia,” Mr. Sokly said, adding that the two men, whose names he could not recall, had been sent to the district police headquarters.

“The turtles are wild turtles, but we don’t know where the suspects took them from,” he said.

Sar Rao, chief of the Forestry Administration’s mobile protection unit, said the turtles were taken to Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center in Takeo province so officials could decide where they should be released.

“We sent the turtles to Phnom Tamao and will keep them there temporarily, then we will release them,” Mr. Rao said.

[email protected]

Related Stories

Latest News