Customs of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) said Thursday that it had seized seven live turtles suspected to be of an endangered species at a border control point.
Customs officers intercepted an outgoing private car at Shenzhen Bay Control Point for inspection on Wednesday, and found the turtles wrapped with black socks and white tape underneath the front passenger seat of the vehicle, the HKSAR government's Customs and Excise Department said in a press release.
The turtles were suspected to be box turtles, an endangered species, with an estimated market value of about 14,000 Hong Kong dollars (about 1,794 U.S. dollars), it said.
The 50-year-old male driver was arrested.
The case was handed over to Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department of the HKSAR government for follow-up investigation.
Under the HKSAR's Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting an endangered species without a licence is liable to a maximum fine of 5 million Hong Kong dollars (about 0.64 million U.S. dollars) and imprisonment for two years.
