AIRPORT police today arrested two people on suspicion of smuggling tortoises into the country from Corfu.

AIRPORT police today arrested two people on suspicion of smuggling tortoises into the country from Corfu.

A 41-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman from Walthamstow, East London, were arrested after arriving on the 1.25pm plane from the Greek island.

The Essex Police swoop was part of an operation to tackle the illegal importation of endangered tortoises to the UK.

Officers found four tortoises in a suitcase and three in a hand luggage bag after the RSPCA reported information they had received to the Metropolitan Police's Wildlife Crime Unit.