ISTANBUL, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police raided an illegal animal museum in Istanbul, confiscating 405 taxidermied endangered animals, local media reported on Wednesday.

After conducting thorough physical and technical surveillance, the Istanbul Police Department's anti-smuggling teams found businessman Ali Haydar Ustay was behind the establishment of the museum, according to the Hurriyet Daily.

During their investigation, the suspect had hunted in 30 countries across six continents and smuggled the animals he had killed into the country using his private plane.

Subsequently, the teams launched an operation targeting both the museum premises and the suspect's residence.

Among the seized taxidermied animals were polar bears, crocodiles, lions, cheetahs, and bison, protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

The seized animals have an estimated market value of around 75 million Turkish liras (2.3 million U.S. dollars). Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)