Baby turtles released

Baby turtles released

MERAUKE, Irian Jaya: About 381 of 721 baby turtles confiscated from an alleged smuggler at Mopah airfield here last April have been released into the wild, Antara said on Wednesday.

"The baby turtles were confiscated from a businessman, Anto Lamo, who was about to send them to Jakarta," head of the conservation section of the Merauke Natural Conservation Center Ayub Notanubun said.

More than 300 of the 721 turtles, which belonged to the endangered Carretochelys species, subsequently died, he said.

The rest are being kept as evidence for court proceedings, he said.

He said Lamo and the turtles kept as evidence were held at the local prosecutor's office.