Aurraiya (UP), Mar 18 (IANS) :Some 709 endangered turtles were seized in Uttar Pradesh's Aurraiya district, police said, adding that one person has been arrested in connection.

Acting on specific inputs, police raided a hideout in Kiratpur village of Tawli area and arrested the man with a large consignment of turtles.

ASP Shishya Pal said the accused has been identified as Suraj from whose possession 709 turtles were recovered.

"The information about the recovered turtle has been given to the forest department officials," the ASP further said.

Regional forest officer Komal Singh rushed to the spot and started investigations which revealed that the accused is a wildlife smuggler.

Police and the forest department teams are interrogating him to procure more information about his gang.

Smuggling of endangered turtles has become rampant particularly in the Etawah-Mainpuri and Aurraiya districts.

The reptiles, which are considered a delicacy, are also used for medicinal purposes in the northeastern part of the country.

Meanwhile, a case has been registered against the arrested man under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act.

The investigators claimed that the arrested man during, preliminary round of investigation, had confessed to smuggling turtles earlier on several occasions.

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