A resident of Matigara, Siliguri, was convicted of smuggling turtles in a case from 2022.

Officials of the Kurseong forest division said that Samiran Raj, who was the range officer of the Bagdogra forest range then, had received a tip-off in December 2022 about an illegal turtle trade.

“Acting on the information, Samiran Raj — now the range officer of the Panighata range — conducted a raid at Khaprail More in Matigara and nabbed Ujjwal Paul red-handed,” said a forester.

Foresters recovered one Indian Roofed turtle, two Red-Eared Slider turtles and one Brown Roofed turtle from his possession. The Indian Roofed Turtle was found dead, while the other turtles were alive.

The Indian Roofed turtle is a Schedule I species under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, making its possession illegal. The other two are also classified as exotic.

A case was filed in the additional chief judicial magistrate’s court in Siliguri. He was sentenced to four years of rigorous imprisonment with a fine of ₹25,000 on October 17.

“We received the order on Saturday. It also says that in case of non-payment of the fine, he will have to serve an additional six months of imprisonment,” said a forester.