PESHAWAR, Sept 19: The wildlife department seized body parts of turtles, weighing up to 300kg, during a pre-dawn raid at a house in Aman Gar area of Nowshera district on Wednesday.

The seized turtles were being taken to down-country for onward transportation abroad, said chief conservator Dr Mumtaz Malik while talking to APP.

He said five persons were arrested while loading turtles onto a truck for shifting them to Lahore.

The official said that the accused belonged to Lahore and were involved in the illegal trade for years.

He said the raid was conducted by DFO Wildlife Peshawar Division Israr Ahmad on a tip about turtle trade in the area.

He said the seized body parts of turtles would be incinerated.

One of the arrested accused, Jehangir, a resident of Thokar Niaz Baig in Lahore, told APP that he was involved in the turtle business for the last four years and was not aware of the ban the provincial had imposed on turtle hunting in the NWFP.

Jehangir said he purchased turtle body parts in NWFP at the rate of Rs250-300 per kg and sold them in Lahore or Karachi for Rs1,500-1800 per kg.—APP