LUCKNOW: In a joint operation of UP STF and Forest Department , international wildlife smuggler Ajay Singh and his accomplice Deependra were arrested from Agra on Monday. 23 red crowned roof turtle (Batagur kachuga), popularly called `lal tilakdhari' , were recovered from them. They were transporting the turtles to Chennai.The species protected under Schedule (I) of the Indian Wildlife Act is critically endangered, left only in hundreds in Chambal. As per Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), in spite of continuous inflow of information about the turtles being smuggled in huge numbers, no agency has recovered a single piece in last five years.Singh told police during interrogation that he was involved in turtle poaching and trade for the last five years. He was poaching the turtles from Yamuna and Chambal.Besides, red crowned roof turtle, the gang was also poaching Indian narrow-head softshell turtle (Chitra indica). "He confessed of being in contact with big smugglers in Chennai and Kolkata," said addl. SP, STF, Dr Aravind Chaturvedi.The red crowned roof turtle bought for about Rs 4,000 each is sold at a whopping Rs 1.5 to 2 lakh in Thailand and Singapore. "STF team is working relentlessly on the information provided by the accused about poachers, middlemen, carriers and traders," said the official.The accused will be presented in the court by the investigation officer of the forest department and after getting directions from the court, the recovered turtles will be released in their natural habitat.

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