Indonesian police and foreign tourists released on Thursday about 100 protected green turtles that were confiscated from a boat en route to the resort island of Bali, police said. "We released about 100 turtles of various sizes at Kuta Beach," water police officer Arief told AFP, adding that tourists also helped release the reptiles.
Two of the turtles were being kept as evidence, Arief said.
"The turtles are a protected species and the boat master and his crew will be charged with violating the law on nature conservation and a 1999 government regulation on flora and fauna," he said.
The turtles, saved on Wednesday, had come from Indonesia's South Sulawesi and were to be sold in Bali, where turtle meat is widely consumed, including as part of local Bali-Hinduist religious rites.
Its shells are also crafted into souvenirs for tourists.
Indonesia, home to important migrations routes at the crossroads of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, is home to six out of seven of the world's turtle species.
