EARTH TIMES (London, UK) 19 June 07 'Lucky' turtles believed to cure cancer stolen in Hong Kong
Hong Kong (DPA): Sixty rare turtles believed to bring good luck and to have mystical healing powers have been stolen in an armed robbery in Hong Kong, police said Tuesday. A gang of six masked robbers held a pet lover at knifepoint and tied up her and her daughter Monday before stealing the Chinese three-striped box turtles from a garden pond, a police spokesman said.
The turtles sell for up to 6,000 Hong Kong dollars (767 US dollars) each and are believed to bring good fortune when alive and to cure cancer and other illnesses when served up in traditional Chinese medicine.
The turtles' owner had been collecting and breeding the creatures for more than 20 years and kept them in a covered pond at her home in Hong Kong's Sheung Shui district.
Police said they believe the turtles might have been stolen to order and smuggled across the border to China, where they command a high price as a traditional medicine and are served crushed into a jelly.
'Lucky' turtles believed to cure cancer stolen in Hong Kong