SHELL SHOCK: Customs officers display three of around 10,000 tortoises and turtles seized at Yau Ma Tei public cargo loading area yesterday, the largest such seizure in Hong Kong. Four drivers were arrested.

The creatures, thought to be from Malaysia and Indonesia, had arrived via Macau and were being smuggled to the mainland packed inside 475 boxes in four containers. The tortoises and turtles, worth $3.2 million, were sent to Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden.