Calcutta: A resident of Jadavpur who was earlier arrested by the Bengal forest department for trying to smuggle turtles out of the country has been picked up by the forest department of Madhya Pradesh in a similar case.

Tapas Basak, alias Rony, was out on bail when he was arrested again on Saturday for a case of turtle smuggling registered against him in Madhya Pradesh.

Basak used to smuggle Indian Star Tortoise and Spotted Pond Turtle, among other varieties. "He would send the animals to China and the Southeast Asian countries, where there is a great demand for turtles and tortoises as pet," said an official of the Union government's Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB).

There are at least three cases - two filed by the forest department and one by police - against Basak in Bengal, the official said.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature website lists both the Indian Star Tortoise and the Spotted Pond Turtle as "vulnerable" in India. The Indian Star Tortoise is found in "northwestern India (Gujarat, Rajasthan)... eastern and southern areas from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and eastern Karnataka to Odisha", according to the website. The Spotted Pond Turtle is found in northeastern India.

Both animals are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act. Trading in these animals is prohibited.

A special task force of the Madhya Pradesh forest department arrived in Calcutta recently to look for some suspects in animal trade. The names of some suspects from Bengal had cropped up during the interrogation of some people arrested in Madhya Pradesh for animal smuggling.

"The Madhya Pradesh team had come with an arrest warrant. We helped them locate Basak. They have applied for a transit remand to take him back," said Agni Mitra, deputy director (eastern region) at the wildlife bureau.