Two poachers of rare turtles have been arrested red-handed from Ravi River in Lahore and 10 turtles have been recovered from their possession during operation against illegal hunting and smuggling of animals, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Thursday.

People involved in illegal wildlife trafficking opened fire on the Wildlife raiding team during operation.

Senior Punjab Minister Maryam Aurangzeb commended the performance of the raiding team, the officers and staff of the Wildlife Department.

Under the direction of Senior Punjab Minister Maryam Aurangzeb, operation clean-up against illegal wildlife trade is ongoing across the province.

Special Wildlife Squad Punjab conducted the raid under the supervision of Director General Wildlife Mudassar Riaz Malik.

In this regard, DG Wildlife said seven turtles are alive while three were found dead.

Sarfraz and Fayyaz Chabeel were arrested for illegal hunting and shooting of turtles, he said.

Pistols, bullets, nets, axes and other items were also seized from the accused.

Tortoises are included in Schedule III of the Wildlife Act as protected wildlife.