1,529 Exotic Turtles And Tortoises Were Found Trying To Be Smuggled Into The Philippines

1,529 different species of turtles and tortoises, including Star Tortoises, Redfoot Tortoises, Sulcata Tortoises, and Red-eared Slider turtles, were trying to be smuggled into the Philippines' main airport, this past Sunday. The passenger carrying the animals from a flight from Hong Kong, said to a Filipino national, abandoned the exotic animals in four items of luggage that have since been intercepted by authorities.

Miraculously, all of the animals were found to be alive and believed to be worth around $86,000, according to the Bureau of Customs at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

In their announcement, the Bureau of Customs NAIA released a series of photos of the smuggled turtles, some of which had been bound in duct tape. The animals have now been turned over to to the Wildlife Traffic Monitoring Unit of the Philippines Department on Natural Resources, the Bureau of Customs PH said.

Story originally found on abc.news.