A local woman was recently found to have five Chinese box turtles, also colloquially known as “golden turtles” in Cantonese, wrapped around her abdomen and in her trouser pockets when she went through security checks at Gongbei Customs.
Also known as yellow-margined box turtles and golden-headed turtles, the reptile formally known as Cuoraflavomarginata is an endangered species, according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The turtle’s Chinese name – “shishegui”- means “snake-eating turtle”.
Gongbei Customs said in a statement on Thursday that when the woman from Macau went through security checks while crossing the Gongbei border checkpoint, she told officers that she had a stomach ache and looked odd.
The statement did not say when the woman crossed the checkpoint from Macau to Zhuhai.
According to the Macau Post Daily, the statement said that during the inspection, officers found that she was hiding five live turtles in the pockets of her trousers and wrapped around her abdomen. They were later confirmed be the endangered Chinese box turtles protected by CITES.
