A poacher was arrested for allegedly selling critically endangered turtles in Thailand.

The Thai man, Yuda, 50, was entering a national park on his motorcycle when eagle-eyed officers spotted his 'suspicious' cargo in Chiang Mai province on April 17.

They opened the fertiliser sack he was carrying and discovered 17 big-headed turtles - a protected species in Thailand - weighing a total of 7.8 kilogrammes inside. One of the reptiles was already dead.

Yuda was detained while the remaining turtles were returned to their natural habitat.

Prakasit Rawiwan, chief of Pha Daeng National Park, said: 'Investigations found that the suspect Yuda had been hired by a certain 'Daeng' from Chiang Mai, with whom he had been communicating via Facebook Messenger.

'We found evidence of their transactions in the chat history.

'Daeng had hired him to procure big-headed turtles for 2,400 THB (53 GBP) per kilogramme. Yuda had been hunting them in the national park since April 6 for around 10 days before he was arrested. He was planning to deliver them to Baan Huay Pa Hom.'

Yuda led authorities to a stream in the Pha Daeng National Park where he had been catching the protected wildlife.

He is facing charges of taking wildlife from a national park, entering a national park without compliance with the orders of park officials, hunting protected wildlife, possessing protected wildlife, and trading protected wildlife.

The offenses carry heavy punishments ranging from five to 10 years in jail, and fines between 100,000 THB (2,200 GBP) to 1 million THB (22,000 GBP).

Yuda was detained at the Na Wai Police Station for further legal proceedings.

The big-headed turtle, Platysternon megacephalum, is found in Southeast Asia and southern China, and is named for its disproportionally large head which makes it unable to retreat into its shell.

The species is classified as critically endangered under the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, and is threatened by the pet trade, hunting for medicinal purposes, and degradation of their habitats.