After an intelligence operation, authorities of the Ministry of Environment said that five persons were arrested in possession of hawksbill turtle meat believed to have come from Saona Island. The hawksbill turtle is a protected species.
The administrator of the National Cotubanamá Park (formerly National Park of the East), Pablo Jaiver said the illegal vendors were arrested during an inspection of several boats in the area.
Those arrested are Jonathan Bonilla Mejía, Juan Zapata Méndez, Carlos Zorrilla, Eduardo Penn and Julio Ramírez. La Altagracia province prosecutors are calling for preventive custody for these individuals.
The inspections were carried out by the National Environmental Protection Service (SENPA) of the Ministry of Environment together with the Dominican Armada (Navy) and the National Cotubanamá Park authorities.
The turtles were seized in an inspection at the beach of Bayahibe where the named were arrested on board Mirtha Xiomara boat suspected of carrying the illegal cargo. Those caught in the operation will be charged with capturing and killing a threatened species.
A note from the Ministry of Environment says that when the poachers were caught they scattered the turtle meat on the beach, but the evidence was later recovered and identified.
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Acento
7 Dias
20 February 2017
