Shenzhen customs seizes over 1,000 pet reptiles   

深圳皇岗海关查获千余只“萌萌哒”观赏动物

A customs officer in the Shenzhen city shows tortoises they have seized. (Photo: Chinanews.com)

(ECNS) -- Customs officers in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen have captured more than 1,000 undeclared tortoises, frogs, and lizards.

The Huanggang customs station found the animals hidden in boxes in a truck on December 25, 2014. 

The truck driver said he profited by transporting the pet animals to be sold in the Chinese mainland or online. 

The animals include 23 leopard tortoises, 6 Asian brown tortoises, 1,002 Siebenrock's snake-necked turtles, 99 giant blue tongued skinks, and 62 Green tree frogs.

The leopard tortoise and the Asian brown tortoise are both under special state protection. 

An officer from the Huanggang customs station said the driver was suspected of smuggling and under further investigation. 

According to Chinese law, the smuggling of protected wildlife shall be given five to 10 years or life in prison sentences in serious cases.