The Information and Communications Department of the Border Service of the State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan (SCNS) reported that border guards detained a citizen at Dostuk-Avtodorozhny checkpoint, attempting to illegally transport a large number of aquarium turtles across the Kyrgyz-Uzbek state border on April 8.
During a routine passport control procedure, border officers noticed the suspicious behavior of a man traveling from Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan.
Upon inspection, it was discovered that the individual—identified as S.M., a citizen of Kyrgyzstan, 34, —was carrying 100 live aquarium turtles in his backpack, each wrapped in plastic bag. The detainee admitted that he had received the turtles from an unknown person who asked him to transport them across the border.
Further checks revealed that the man did not have the required documents authorizing the transport of animals across the border.
