Singapore Reporter

PUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines (AFP) – Philippine police said Friday they rescued 120 protected sea turtles found hidden in a pen inside a mangrove swamp, apparently intended for sale to foreign traders.

It is just the latest case of sea turtles captured in the western island of Palawan where various species are known to congregate said local police chief Senior Superintendent David Martinez.

A police patrol in Balabac town on Tuesday came upon a huge pen containing 120 live sea turtles of various species and sizes hidden under the branches of mangroves, he said.

“They were just stored there in the swamp. They (the perpetrators) probably just visited them occasionally when they added newly-caught turtles,” Mr Martinez told AFP.