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ERAUKE: Authorities at Mopah airport in Merauke regency, Papua, foiled an attempt to smuggle 744 young pig-nosed turtles (Carettochelys insculpta) last week.

The turtles were found in a large suitcase bound for Jakarta. Officials discovered the luggage left unattended in the Merpati Airlines waiting room.

“The owner never showed up, so we have no clue about the turtles’ history,” local security division head Didi Eko Migiarto said Thursday, as quoted by Antara news agency.

If the owner had not abandoned the luggage, the turtles might have been lost because they were not detected by the X-Ray scanner, he said.

Smuggling of endangered species, including pig-nosed turtles, is reportedly rampant at the airport, where officials have admitted to difficulties preventing such cases. — JP