News Education Environment Traffic Crime

Vietnamese man charged for killing 4,000 rare turtles for souvenir business

By VnExpress December 3, 2016 | 02:13 am PT

Sea turtle corpses found at a warehouse in Nha Trang. Photo courtesy of Khanh Hoa Police

The illegal products were meant to be sold to China and Taiwan.

Prosecutors from the central province of Khanh Hoa on Saturday ratified charges against a man for running a business that killed thousands of endangered sea turtles and turned them into taxidermy souvenirs.

Hoang Tuan Hai, 44, was accused of breaking wildlife protection regulations, local media reported. Police said Hai has not been detained but is banned from leaving the province.

The illegal business was busted in late 2014 when police found 4,379 dead sea turtles at his property in Nha Trang Town. Authorities said it took them some time to investigate the case thoroughly before charges could be filed.

Hai has admitted to having run the business from 2010. He hired a crew to hunt the rare animals, then had their bodies preserved as souvenirs for buyers in China and Taiwan.

Members of Nha Trang Oceanography Institute who joined the investigation said the turtles belonged to endangered species whose trade is prohibited under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

> Light at tunnel's end: Vietnam pledges tough action against illegal wildlife trade

> Vietnam a 'supermarket' for illegal wildlife trade, hearing told