INTERNATIONAL NEWS - Bangladesh border police said Tuesday they had seized more than 120 kilograms (270 pounds) of dead turtles, their largest ever haul of the animal, which is commonly used in oriental medicines.

Officers from Board Guard Bangladesh (BGB) found the dried meat and shells after smugglers abandoned the contraband on the country's northwest border with India when challenged by guards.

"This is the largest haul we have seized. The dried turtles were being smuggled from India," area commander Amirul Islam told AFP.

Dried turtles can be used in traditional medicine, Islam said. Herbal medicines are popular among both the urban middle-class and in poorer rural communities in Bangladesh.

Bangladeshi forest officials say there has been a spike in incidents of exotic animal poaching in recent months.

The latest seizure comes just weeks after Thai customs discovered hundreds of live turtles, 35 star tortoises and other rare animals in a suitcase from Bangladesh at Bangkok's main airport.

"Some smugglers are using Bangladesh as a transit point for illegal trafficking of wild animals from the region," Tapan Kumar Dey, the forest department's chief conservator of wildlife told AFP.

"Traffickers are using the country's porous land borders with India to smuggle wild animals into Bangladesh and then transport them to South East Asian countries," Dey said.

He said Bangladesh was setting up a specialised force to crack down on poachers and smugglers in the country's forests including the Sundarbans -- home to critically endangered Bengal tigers -- and at its main border points.

Source : Sapa