Peru seizes 4,000 live Amazon turtles at airport

Peruvian authorities seized some 4,000 Amazon turtles, at the country's main international airport on Thursday. Most of the reptiles are baby Arrau turtles, the largest river turtles in South America so also the yellow-spotted river turtles were found in small transparent plastic containers inside cardboard boxes.

Both turtles are listed on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora Appendix II, which requires the tracking and regulation of trade.According to Interpol, the black market for illegal wildlife products are worth up to $20 billion per year, and is pushing many species to the brink of extinction.