Lucknow, Nov 30 (IANS): The Uttar Pradesh Police Special Task Force (STF) has arrested a Bihar resident for his alleged involvement with an international wildlife smuggling racket and recovered 155 turtles from his possession.

According to the STF, Neeraj Dixit, a resident of Gopalganj, was arrested from Nighasan-Dakrawa Road in Lakhimpur Kheri while he was on his way to handover the turtles to another person linked to the racket.

Dixit worked as a carrier for the gang and transported wildlife from one place to another, it said.

After being taken into custody, authorities are interrogating him about others members of the gang.

A senior STF official said that as many as 20,000 turtles are smuggled from Uttar Pradesh every year.

The indiscriminate hunting and smuggling of the creatures have prompted the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau to issue an alert.

Members of several such gangs prowl turtle habitats in the Ganga, Yamuna, Chambal, Ghaghra, Sharda, Ken, Betwa, and Rapti river basins, said the official.