Hong Kong seizes 800 endangered pig-nosed turtles

The baby reptiles, distinguishable by their fleshy snout-like noses, were confiscated in January and were believed to have been caught from the wild in Indonesia before being brought illegally to Hong Kong.

The record seizure came to light as authorities prepared to release 600 of the surviving turtles, of the total 785, back to their native habitat in Indonesia's remote Papua province.

"It's the first of its kind (of seizure) in Hong Kong in terms of the number and the species," Alfred Wong, an endangered species protection official from the agriculture, fisheries and conservation department, told reporters.

"They are quite popular in the pet trade, that's why they are threatened by the international trade," he said as the baby turtles were being packed into boxes, to be flown to Indonesia on Wednesday.

The pig-nosed turtles were also threatened because the demand for their eggs and meat, but Wong said they were mostly kept as pets in Hong Kong.

Authorities carried out an investigation into how the creatures came to be in Hong Kong and had questioned suspects, but could not charge them because of insufficient evidence, Wong said.