Philippines: More than 1,500 live turtles in suitcases

More than 1,500 exotic tortoises have been found alive in luggage at the Manila airport, the Philippine authorities announced Monday.

The different types of turtles were found Sunday in four suitcases of a Filipino pbadenger arriving at Ninoy Aquino International Airport by a Philippine Airlines flight from Hong Kong, Customs officials said in a statement. .

The 1,529 turtles were delivered to the wildlife transit monitoring unit of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, according to the release.

The charges of illegal wildlife trafficking are punishable by imprisonment for up to two years and a fine of up to 200,000 pesos ($ 3,861).

In 2018, the Philippine authorities delivered to the department 560 specimens of wild animals, some of them in danger, including 250 lizards and 254 corals trafficked by plane, baggage and cargo, according to the statement.