There were five round objects in total, with four of them being hawksbill turtle eggs found in Đỗ Thị Lệ Hoa’s suitcase. – Photo vietnamnet.vn

BÀ RỊA-VŨNG TÀU – The People's Court of Côn Đảo District, Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu Province recently tried a case involving the purchase, possession, and transportation of four hawksbill sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) eggs in April.

According to the case file, in June 2023, while traveling with her family to Côn Đảo, Lê Thị Chi, (born in 1992, from Hà Nội), asked Phạm Anh Tuấn (born in 1997, from Quảng Bình Province), a taxi driver, to find hawksbill sea turtle eggs.

Tuấn took Chi to meet Lương Kiều Tính (born in 1980, from Kiên Giang Province) to buy five turtle eggs at a price of VNĐ250,000 per egg.

Subsequently, Chi asked her mother-in-law, Đỗ Thị Lệ Hoa, to conceal these eggs in her suitcase to take them home.

However, the individuals were detected and apprehended by law enforcement at Côn Đảo Airport.

Additionally, the examination results from the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources under the Việt Nam Academy of Science and Technology determined that the four round objects in Hoa's suitcase were hawksbill sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) eggs.

Another object could not be identified as a species because there was no DNA sequence result available.

The People's Court of Côn Đảo District, Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu Province sentenced Lương Kiều Tính (supplier of the sea turtle eggs) to 12 months in prison.

Taxi driver Phạm Anh Tuấn (facilitator of sea turtle egg sales) received a 12-month prison sentence, which was suspended in favour of a 24-month probation period.

Đỗ Thị Lệ Hoa and her daughter-in-law Lê Thị Chi were fined VNĐ500 million (US$19,680) and VNĐ550 million respectively.

The Hawksbill turtle, scientifically known as chelonia mydas, is one of five species of sea turtles naturally occurring in Việt Nam. They are also afforded the highest level of protection according to both Vietnamese and international regulations.

In the list of prioritised protected species, hawksbill turtles are included in the appendix accompanying Decree 64/2019/ND-CP and Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). – VNS