India: Four persons were arrested in West Bengal on Tuesday in connection with illegal smuggling of 689 endangered Indian soft-shell river turtles.

An official said after getting a tip off,  a team of CID apprehended Lachman Kumar, 30, Raj Kumar, 25, Sushil Kumar, 20, and Raju Kumar, 30, hailing from Sultanpur district of  Uttar Pradesh.

They were caught red handed while boarding the Doon Express. Officials said they were arrested before they could dispose of the consignment in Bandel in Hooghly district.

Reports said they were coming from Varanasi with the endangered turtles. The accused persons were handed over to the range officer of Durgapur division for further action.

(Source: The Pragativadi )