Officials in south-western Vietnam say they have seized 66 wild turtles and tortoises from a passenger bus travelling from Cambodia’s capital of Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City.

Forest rangers in Tay Ninh Province say the smuggled shipment included endangered elongated tortoises and yellow-headed temple turtles.

The animals, weighing around 50 kilograms, were discovered on Friday packed into three tight boxes in the luggage compartment; some of which were wrapped in packing tape.

Local media reports the bus driver failed to produce any papers for the reptiles.

He was quoted as saying a Cambodian national had paid him to deliver them to a vendor in Ho Chi Minh City.

– TiVi Tuan-san