From Smuggled to Saved: Indian Roofed Turtle

This is a pretty cool turtle known as the Indian Roofed Turtle (Pangshura tecta). They are popular in the pet trade because of their oddly-shaped shell and tiger-patterned belly. The first three photos are of baby Indian Roofed Turtles that were actually apprehended at the Customs Department in Bangkok, Thailand. A Bangladeshi man had been trying to smuggle 451 turtles and seven freshwater crocodiles stashed inside his suitcase that would have been worth 1 million baht ($33,000).

Officials found the animals after the man did not collect the luggage and fled on arrival in Bangkok. That’s an awful lot of trouble to go through to end up just bailing on the operation, don’t you think? Poor creatures, so happy they were rescued! I do love a happy ending.