Last week at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok authorities arrested a Thai man after discovering 54 Ploughshare Tortoises in a suitcase he retrieved from a luggage carousel. That's a lot of tortoises, particularly when you consider that the Ploughshare is one of the rarest species on the planet, numbering just 400 around the world.
The man was also found to be in possession of 21 Radiated Tortoises which are on the critically endangered species list as well, so authorities are pretty much convinced he was part of a larger smuggling ring hellbent on monopolizing rare turtles. And you thought you were badass stealing that one passenger's newspaper when he went to the bathroom. [Traffic via Treehugger]
A Man Was Caught Smuggling Almost 14 Percent of an Entire Species