Malaysian authorities have seized thousands of monitor lizards and turtles bound for illegal trade in neighbouring Thailand. Anti-smuggling authorities in northern Kelantan state bordering Thailand on Wednesday discovered dozens of plastic crates containing 2,172 Bengal monitor lizards and 436 box turtles after a tip-off.
"We believe the smugglers may have had a quarrel and decided to ditch the shipment here before reaching the border," the unit's commander Mazlan Che Hamid was quoted as saying in the Star daily.
The animals, valued at 57,000 ringgit (15,796 dollars), are protected under Malaysian legislation and smuggling them out of the country is an offence.
The lizards and turtles have been handed over to Kelantan's Wildlife and National Parks Department, which said they will be released in a state park.
Despite efforts by Southeast Asian authorities to crack down on illegal animal smuggling and trade, the practice still persists in the region, posing threats to a number of species, anti-trafficking activists say.
Source: Agence France-Presse
