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A Chinese wildlife trafficker has been jailed after being caught by police transporting 107 protected sea turtles with his refrigerated truck.
The resident, known by his surname Shen, was tracked down by police after the officers seized found his lorry packed with frozen turtles in the woods in Zhoushan city, Zhejiang province of eastern China.
Mr Shen was sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison and handed a fine of 150,000 yuan. Two other residents who sold four of the sea turtles to Mr Shen were also imprisoned.
The crime case took place in 2018 and was revealed this week by a local court in Zhejiang to warn the public against wild animal trafficking.
Six civil cases were brought to light by the provincial authorities in a social media post on Tuesday in the hope of 'raising public awareness of environment protection and public health safety'.
It comes as China has cracked down the consumption and trade of wildlife in the country amid the coronavirus pandemic which is believed to be caused by the eating of wild animals.
On October 18, 2018, Zhoushan police found a truck loaded with 107 frozen sea turtles after spotting the suspicious lorry hidden in the woods by a sideroad, the post said.
The authorities soon arrested Mr Shen, whose name was registered under the vehicle's license plate.
Another wildlife trafficker, known by his surname Liu, sold four of the protected animals to Mr Shen earlier that day after purchasing them at a nearby harbour.
The four turtles were then delivered to Mr Shen by Mr Liu's associate, known by his surname Jiang. Both Liu and Mr Jiang were arrested by police following the incident.
Sea turtles are recognised as second-class protected wild animals under Chinese laws. Officials said that the frozen turtles were estimated to be worth a total of over three million yuan.
The three wildlife traffickers were charged with the offences of illegal acquisition, transportation, sale of precious and endangered wildlife, the court said.
Mr Shen was given a fine of 150,000 yuan and a sentence of 12 years and seven months.
Mr Jiang was prosecuted with a jail sentence of five years and eight months. He also received a fine of 40,000 yuan. Mr Liu was handed a sentence of a year and two months with a fine of 20,000 yuan, local media reported.
The case from 2018 was brought to the public's attention once again after the provincial court published an online article Tuesday.
The authorities also included a total of six civil cases – all involving illegal wildlife trade – in the social media post to 'raise public awareness of environment protection and public health safety'.
It comes as Chinese officials have pledged to tackle the consumption and trade of wildlife as the coronavirus sweeps across the globe.
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk
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