The Delhi Police officers on Wednesday arrested a 38-year-old man trying to illegally sell 100 turtle hatchlings near northeast Delhi’s Geeta Colony as they busted what they said was a racket that had been involved in selling the rare reptiles for the past six months.

The 100 turtles, which were all stuffed in a single bag being carried on a two-wheeler, were hatchlings and their age can only be ascertained after tests, officials said.

The turtles included endangered species that are offered rigorous protection under the Wildlife Protection Act.

The arrested accused has been identified as Bheem Singh, 28.

Police said they received a tip-off around 1pm that a man was smuggling dozens of turtles, adding that a group of animal activists had posed as decoy customers and ordered the turtles online from him. They were communicating on WhatsApp and Telegram.

Deputy commissioner of police (DCP) (Shahdara) Surendra Choudhary said the recovered turtles fall under the “banned” category, meaning they cannot be kept as house pets or traded.

“A team under inspector Satyawan was sent and the staff was deployed near Raja Ram Kohli Marg at the Pusta Road in Geeta Colony. At 1.20pm, the staff noticed a man approaching on a scooter with a big bag. He was spotted under the flyover and was caught after the activists identified him,” the DCP said.

Police said that the turtles were stacked in a big black bag when police intercepted the vehicle. Police then carried the reptiles to a police station, where they were kept in buckets filled with water. The tiny reptiles were later carried to be produced before the judge at the Karkardooma court. The accused was also produced before the court.

“They were taken out of the bag and were immediately kept in water. We arranged four to five buckets and filled them with water. The turtles were evenly distributed and kept in them. The staff also brought some seeds and fruit to feed the turtles. The animal activities told us that it appeared that the reptiles had been confined in the bag for days… We did everything to ensure they were safe and called the forest department for help,” said an investigating officer aware of the case, requesting anonymity. Forest department officials said the turtles were finally taken to Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary in the evening.

Endangered, rare and vulnerable

According to the initial assessment, the reptiles include 50 Indian-roofed turtles (Pangshura tecta), 45 black pond or spotted pond turtles (Geoclemys hamiltonii), three Indian-eyed turtles (Morenia petersi) and two Indian softshell turtles (Nilssonia gangetica). Police said each turtle would fetch the smugglers anywhere between ₹8,000 to ₹10,000 in the black market.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species the Indian roofed turtle is listed as “vulnerable and rare”, while the black pond, Indian-eyed and Indian softshell turtles are listed as “endangered”.

Singh has been booked under the Wildlife Protection Act and Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act.

Reports showed that the Indian-roofed turtles are found in major rivers and in Pakistan and Bangladesh. The black-spotted pond turtles are Schedule 1 species sold for $120 dollars online. Officials said the recovered turtles are found in the Ganga and its tributaries, adding that they can grow up to 2 feet in size.

“All the turtles are babies. The accused told us that he and his friend from Ghaziabad have been smuggling rare species of turtles for five to six months. He procures the species from the Ganga stretch in Garhmukteshwar area called Garh Ganga and from other subsidiary rivers,” said the officer quoted above.

“The 100 turtles include both hard- and soft-shell species. There are different species and we identified them. We also called a turtle specialist who advised that the trafficked turtles should be sent back to their original habitat after medical a checkup and quarantine,” an official from the department said.

The officials added that the turtles will be kept at Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary for now and the accused has been sent to police custody. His accomplice has previously been booked in a similar case by the Uttar Pradesh police.

Gauri Maulekhi, an animal activist said these turtles are mainly trafficked so they can be sold as pets. “Though not legally allowed to be kept as pets, people still buy them illegally on the black market for this very purpose,” she said.