A joint operation by the Tax Agency and the Guardia Civil

• The arrest occurred after a search was carried out during the disembarkation of a ship from Mostaganem (Algeria) at one of the port terminals.

February 28, 2023 .- Customs Surveillance officials from the Tax Agency and agents from the Civil Guard, in a joint operation, have arrested a man in the port of Valencia who was transporting ten tortoises of the 'Testudo Graeca' species in his vehicle when he was trying to introduce them into our country.

The events took place on February 13 when Customs Surveillance officials from the Tax Agency and agents from the Civil Guard of Valencia, while carrying out border surveillance tasks, set up a checkpoint for passengers and goods at one of the port terminals.

During the disembarkation of a ship from Mostaganem (Algeria), investigators identified an Algerian citizen, who told the agents that he had nothing to declare.

After searching his belongings and the vehicle he was travelling in, a cardboard box was found containing ten Testudo Graeca tortoises, a species included in the IUCN Red List of endangered species, like all those of the Testudo genus.

The detainee, a 70-year-old man of Algerian nationality, is accused of illegal trafficking of protected or endangered species.

The proceedings have been submitted to the Court of First Instance and Instruction Number 18 of Valencia.