Costa Rica’s police capture four men suspected of killing green sea turtles

Police arrested four men Thursday for the suspected killing of two green sea turtles on Costa Rica’s Caribbean Coast.

The men, surnamed Castellón, Picado, Peña and Ballestero, and the dead turtles were found on a boat near the northern border patrol station of Agua Dulce in Colorado de Pococí. Two of the men, Peña and Ballestero, had previous drug charges. The suspects were transferred to a local flagrance court where they were be charged with violating Costa Rica’s wildlife law.

Despite being endangered and protected, the green sea turtle is often killed in Costa Rica for its meat and eggs.