smuggling 300 tortoises when the slowest possible cargo was the whole plan

Man caught with 300 tortoises and 77 parrots bound for Malta at Sicilian port

A Maltese man was stopped at the Sicilian port of Pozzallo as he tried to board a Malta-bound catamaran with 300 tortoises and 77 parrots packed into his car, which police said had no adequate space or temperature control. Vets found 76 of the parrots belonged to species protected under the 1973 Washington convention, and Italy's financial police called the seizure one of the most significant under that agreement. The animals went to a breeding facility; the man faces animal cruelty charges and prosecution for breaching international protected-species trade laws.

Source: Man caught with 300 tortoises and 77 parrots bound for Malta at Sicilian port — Guardian World

A daily AI-made news meme from Jester · Oct 5, 2026.

Topics: tortoises · parrots · animalsmuggling · sicily · malta · weirdnews