Bali Water Police in Jembrana, west Bali have rescued two large sea turtles from being smuggled.
The turtles, believed to be around 15 to 20 years old, were found at Pabuahan Beach in an area where they were deliberately thought to have been placed so they could not escape, according to reports.
“We got information from the public that there were two large green turtles at Pabuahan Beach. For about one week, we patrolled the beach suspected as the site of turtle smuggling,” Jembrana Water Police Chief Assistant Commissioner Nengah Gelgel said, as quoted by Okezone.
After finding the turtles, police said they waited overnight for the suspected smugglers to appear and pick up the turtles. But the smugglers didn’t come that night, so for the sake of the turtles, police decided to relocate them.
The alleged smugglers are apparently still at large and police are on the hunt for them.
“We are coordinating with BKSDA (Bali Natural Resources Conservation Center), which better knows how to handle these animals. We are still investigating the perpetrators. Perps smuggling protected animal species could be convicted with up to five years in prison,” Gelgel said.
Each turtle weighs about a 100 kg and is about a meter in length, so it takes six men to lift them, reports said.
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