Int’l warrant arrest filed against illegal turtle poacher

Thailand authorities have issued an international arrest warrant against Manivannan Murugesan for smuggling endangered turtles to Macau, amongst other places.

Murugesan is currently in custody of India’s Madhya Pradesh special task force (STF) wildlife unit and has been in jail for smuggling endangered red-crownned roofed turtles from Morena, a city in India.

The task force had already approached the enforcement directorate headquarters in Mumbai, seeking to open a money-laundering case against Murugesan and four others.

According to the Times of India, Interpol has been approached to take Murugesan on transit remand from the central jail in Sagar where he is currently detained.

A native of Singapore, his illegal trade is spread across Thailand, Malaysia, Macau, Hong Kong, China and Madagascar.

Murugesan was arrested by Thai authorities in 2012, but escaped during his trial and has since been on the run.

The man’s alleged role in the smuggling surfaced with the arrest of a businessman for stealing a red-crowned roofed turtle from a breeding center in Morena district.

The accused reportedly supplies fish feed to a crocodile center that helps breed and rehabilitate crocodiles, gharials and endangered turtles.

The 50-year-old allegedly smuggled hundreds of red-crowned roofed turtles over the last 10 years, although he has only admitted to 50 instances.