Shell-shocked: Stunned airport staff find 185 tortoises hidden in suitcase
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Airport workers in Ecuador were given the surprise of their lives when they uncovered 185 tortoises hidden inside a suitcase during a routine customs inspection.
The slow-moving reptiles, which had been sent to the mainland from the Galapagos Islands, were discovered at the main airport on the island of Baltra yesterday.
The tortoises, thought to be less than three months old, were wrapped in plastic by traffickers. Ten of them had died, officials said.
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The creatures face a constant threat from illegal trading, with smugglers hoping to sell them to animal collectors or at exotic pet markets.
Officials combatting wildlife trafficking say hatchling-sized juveniles can fetch more than $5,000 (£3,600) each, the BBC reported.
The smugglers are believed to have wrapped the tortoises in plastic in a bid to evade detection by X-ray machines, but airport authorities became suspicious nonetheless.
The suitcase had been posted to the airport by a transport and was said to contain souvenirs, according to a statement from the airport.
No arrests have been made so far, but employees of the transport firm who checked in the suitcase have been held for questioning.
The penalty for smuggling animals from the Galapagos islands is a prison sentence of up to three years.
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Ecuadorian environment minister Marcelo Mata condemned the actions, describing them as a crime against the country’s wild fauna and natural heritage.
The Galapagos, which lie roughly 1,000km off the coast of Ecuador, boast a number of unique animal and plant species.
Galapagos giant tortoises are among the most famous and are believed to have arrived on the volcanic islands between three and four million years ago.