Turtle meat over Rs2m stolen from Sindh Wildlife office

Some 1,200kg turtles and pangolins meat worth over Rs2 million was stolen from an office of the Sindh Wildlife Department in Karachi, a private media outlet reported Saturday.

Reports cited wildlife department officials as saying that dacoits reportedly overpowered the watchman before looting the meat but police suspect the crime was an “inside job”.

Sindh Wildlife Con­servator Javed Mahar told the media outlet that three unidentified suspects arrived at the building on Friday night and held the watchman, Abdul Qayum, hostage.

Subsequently, they headed straight to the place inside the premises where dry meat of turtles and pangolins was kept and took away 1,200kg of it the value of which is estimated to be over Rs2 million.

Mahar revealed that two months ago the department had seized the meat, which is often smuggled to South East Asian countries where it has a big market. The officer said that it was “case property”.

Saddar SP Abdullah Ahmad told the media outlet that the Wildlife Department has only reported the case but did not lodge an FIR.

He said that the watchman was also “changing” his statement about the incident, which gave space to suspicions about the involvement of internal persons in the incident.