Smuggling In A Half Shell: 5,450 Turtles Found In Door Frames Of Car

I've heard of drugs being smuggled in car compartments, but this is a new one for me...

From PressTV:

Turkish customs officers discovered 5,450 turtles hidden in the door frames of a car in north-western town of Artvin on Monday (January 20), according to the local government of Artvin.

Security officials stopped a car entering the country from Georgia at Sarp border gate. The officers found the reptiles following an X-ray inspection of the vehicle.

Again, the story caught my attention because 'turtle smuggling' seems so bizarre, but turns out it's actually a pretty common thing. 

There's lots of stories about people getting on planes with up to 40 turtles strapped to their bodies under pants & shirts, and last year a man leaving Morocco casually carried a pastry box of turtles through the airport & onto the plane. (Customs officers in Berlin finally caught him.)

Rarer species are kept as prized pets for their fancy, intricate shell patterns, and others are killed for meat. But just where are all these turtles coming from and where are they going? Via a 2018 National Geographic report: 

Dozens of investigators, analysts, and undercover workers found that in most cases the turtles and tortoises were being smuggled from India, Pakistan, and Madagascar to buyers in mainland China and Hong Kong.

That same year over 10,000 turtles were found in a Madagascar home, where authorities were tipped off because of the smell…

Meanwhile on this side of the globe - we've also got our 'unique' smuggling preferences… 

I think we can all agree that smuggling animals - actually bad. But whatever the item, it's a sticky racket where people always seem to find a way. I think my proudest smuggle was sneaking several quarts of liquor into a music festival in the thighs & butt of my jeans. The thick plastic baggies cut up my legs a little bit since I had to walk so far to get in, but well worth it if I do say so myself.

If you're interested in going further down a rabbit hole, click HERE for a smuggling highlight page of gecko lizards hidden in hollowed-out books, meth brains for Mr. Potato Heads, clams filled with cocaine & glued shut and more. Ah, human ingenuity! 

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If only there was a group out there who could put a stop to all this…