DENPASAR, Indonesia — Authorities in Indonesia ‘s tourist island of Bali foiled an attempt last week to illegally trade 21 protected green sea turtles, police said on Friday.

Bali police seized the live animals during a raid on the island’s Pegametan coast on June 10, after local residents reported suspected illegal turtle trading activity in the area, according to Nanang Pri Hasmojo, head of law enforcement at the force.

Police arrested a 67-year-old man identified only by his initials as KS, who is suspected of storing the protected animals before they were distributed for sale.

During initial questioning, police say the suspect told investigators the turtles had been sent by an associate from waters near Madura, an island in East Java province. He allegedly received the animals on the beach, where they were to be collected by another man for resale.

“We are continuing to investigate the case and pursuing other suspects involved in the network,” Hasmojo said. He added that the suspect has been charged under Indonesia’s wildlife protection laws, and faces up to 15 years in prison and significant fines if found guilty.

Turtle species in Indonesia have been legally protected under conservation and fisheries laws since 1990. A 2018 Environment Ministry regulation further clarified protections for the six species of sea turtles found in the country’s waters. Additional government regulations also prohibit their trade.

Poaching of turtle eggs by local communities and organized criminal networks is a key driver of a global crisis that has pushed six of the world’s seven sea turtle species into threatened categories, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

A 2022 study by researchers at Arizona State University, published in Global Change Biology, estimated that more than 1.1 million sea turtles were killed between 1990 and 2020, largely to meet demand for meat, alleged aphrodisiacs and for use in traditional and spiritual practices.

According to the study, the green turtle, scientifically known as “Chelonia Mydas,” accounted for 56% of sea turtle killings in the 30-year period to 2020.

Bali was once a major hub for green turtle trafficking, driven in part by the historical use of turtle meat in offerings in Balinese Hinduism, the predominant religion on the island of about 4.5 million people.