The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Bengaluru Zonal Unit, has seized 180 live Indian Star Tortoises in the city and arrested a person suspected of transporting them through a local wildlife-trafficking network.
The seizure was made on September 7 after DRI officers acted on specific intelligence and intercepted a person carrying a green trolley bag in Gandhinagar. A search of the bag led to the recovery of six cloth covers containing the tortoises, identified as Geochelone elegans.
The Indian Star Tortoise enjoys the highest level of protection under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. The DRI said the animals were seized under the relevant provisions of the law, and the person carrying them was arrested under Section 50(1) for further action.
During questioning, the arrested person reportedly told officials that he had received the trolley bag from another individual at Kalasipalyam. He was allegedly instructed to deliver it to a third person in Majestic and was promised Rs 10,000 for the delivery.
The locations named in the account place the suspected movement of the tortoises across central Bengaluru, from Kalasipalyam to Gandhinagar and Majestic. The seizure followed intelligence-led interception rather than a routine inspection, according to the report.
The case concerns the illegal movement of live protected wildlife through the city. The seizure of 180 animals in a single consignment indicates the scale of the suspected operation, although the available details do not establish how the tortoises were sourced, where they were intended to be taken, or whether other people involved in the alleged network have been identified.
The DRI’s action has resulted in the recovery of the tortoises and the arrest of the alleged carrier. Further proceedings will be taken under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, as the investigation continues.
