Mainpuri, March 2, 2025 – A significant wildlife smuggling operation was thwarted by a joint team of the Uttar Pradesh Police and the Forest Department, who successfully seized 405 rare Indian flapshell turtles on Saturday. The turtles were recovered from suspected wildlife smugglers during a strategic interception on the Usrahaar-Kishni Road.
The operation was carried out by a combined team from the Kanpur unit of the Police's Special Task Force (STF), Mainpuri Forest Range, and the Wildlife Control Bureau, Gorakhpur. Acting on an intelligence tip-off, the team halted a car carrying the endangered turtles and arrested two individuals, Amit Yadav and Kuldeep Chaturvedi, both natives of Bareilly.
However, two other suspects, Santosh and Roop Singh, managed to flee the scene and remain at large. Forest Department Sub-Inspector Shivam Pathak confirmed that the Mainpuri, Etawah, and Auraiya forest ranges have seen increasing incidents of smuggling involving these rare turtles, a trend that has raised significant concern.
The arrested smugglers disclosed that they were involved in capturing and selling the turtles for amounts ranging between Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 each. According to the police, the turtles were intended for illegal transportation to Udham Singh Nagar in Uttarakhand, before being sent onward to China.
"STF teams are continuing their raids in an effort to apprehend the absconding suspects," said Pathak. An FIR has been registered at the Mainpuri Forest Range police station, and the arrested individuals have been sent to jail.
This successful operation highlights the ongoing efforts to combat wildlife trafficking and protect endangered species in Uttar Pradesh.
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