Customs officials claimed of rescuing 150 tortoises from being smuggled abroad at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka this morning.
The tortoises were rescued alive in a crackdown, conducted upon a tip-off, near the Gate 1 around 10:30am, said Jewela Khatun, assistant commissioner of the airport’s customs.
No one could be detained in this connection, she added.
Talking to The Daily Star, the customs officer said that the tortoises, worth around Tk 20 lakh in the current market, would be handed over to forest department soon