More than 1,500 turtles and tortoises found in suitcases at Manila airport

A total of 1,529 live turtles and tortoises have been found in luggage at Manila airport in the Philippines, after being smuggled on a flight from Hong Kong.

Customs officials found them wrapped in tape in four different unclaimed suitcases, packaged in with clothes and other items. One picture shows a turtle taped up and tucked inside a trainer.

The reptiles, which have a market value of more than 4.5 million pesos (EUR75,000), were handed over to the Wildlife Traffic Monitoring Unit.

Under the law in the Philippines, if caught, the animal traffickers face fines of up to 200,000 pesos (EUR3,372) and two years in jail.

The animals discovered in the suitcases included ones recognised as vulnerable on the IUCN's Red list of threatened species, such as the Sulcata Tortoise. Red-eared Slider turtles were also among them.