Six held in Ghaziabad for smuggling tortoises

GHAZIABAD - Six people were held here Tuesday while they were smuggling tortoises, police said.

“The tortoises are used in tantric rituals and are also of great value in the international market,” a police officer said.

On a tip-off, the Ghaziabad police intercepted a car in which the tortoises were being transported.

The smugglers confessed during interrogation that they were transporting the tortoises to Agra where a tantric had promised to pay them a lot of money.

The accused were identified as Sunil, Harishchandra Verma, Prahlad Singh, Ravi Kumar, Jai Dev and Sanjay.