Ukrainian customs uncover smuggled tortoises

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian customs said Monday its officers had seized 250 tortoises that a passenger had tried to smuggle across the former Soviet republic's eastern border aboard a sleeper train.

"While officers were conducting a check aboard the Tashkent-Kharkiv train, a citizen of Uzbekistan was found to have hidden 250 tortoises behind a panel in the toilet and between berths two and three," it said in a statement.

The statement said the tortoises, valued at the equivalent of $2,300), had been confiscated.

(Editing by Paul Casciato)