KARACHI: A female turtle lumbers across the beach in Pakistan's bustling port city of Karachi late at night, looking for a place to lay her eggs.
Waiting for her, staff from Sindh Wildlife watch quietly as the green turtle buries a hundred or more eggs in the sand before heading back out into the Arabian Sea.
Because of COVID-19 and movement restrictions, beaches around the world have more sparsely inhabited by humans since last year. Sea turtles have taken the opportunity to return to their birthplaces in large numbers, reclaiming the now less-polluted, serene beaches to lay their eggs during the main September-November breeding season.
Green turtles seen on Karachi beaches jumped to 15,000 last year from 8,000-8,500 in 2019, Sindh Wildlife says. Lockdowns ended by the start of this year's season, but conservation experts still expect a large number of the endangered animals to visit.
Among the largest sea turtles and the only herbivores, adult green turtles can weigh more than 90 kg (200 pounds).
They nest in more than 80 countries and live in tropical and subtropical coastal areas of more than 140. Conservation group Sea Turtle Conservancy says there are 85,000 to 90,000 nesting females worldwide.
The weather in Karachi can be conducive to egg-laying as late as January, and wildlife officials will keep up their vigil until then.
"The turtles have still had an ample egg-laying opportunity during this period. In this season, too, we have had a large number of turtles coming here. The result is that within a period of three months, we have nested around 6,000 eggs so far," said Ashfaq Ali Memon, who is in charge of Sindh Wildlife's Marine Turtle Unit.
As soon as the mother turtle leaves, staff hurry to dig out the eggs and move them to a three-foot (1-metre) deep pit in a hatchery until the babies hatch, 40-45 days later. The hatchlings are taken to the beach immediately and released into the sea.
The Sindh turtle unit has released 860,000 turtle babies into the Arabian Sea since being set up in 1970. Memon said 900 have been released so far this season.
Conservationists say that in the past, sea turtle populations were threatened by demand for their fat, meat and eggs, but in recent years loss of habitat due to pollution and land reclamation have also taken their toll.
Pakistani wildlife team cradles green turtles babies from beach to sea
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Pakistani wildlife team cradles green turtles babies from beach to sea
- Because of COVID-19 restrictions, beaches around the world have more sparsely inhabited by humans since last year
- Sea turtles have taken the opportunity to return to their birthplaces in large numbers, reclaiming the now less-polluted, serene beaches
Two Pakistani men indicted in $10 million Medicare fraud scheme in Chicago
- Prosecutors say defendants billed Medicare and private insurers for nonexistent services
- Authorities say millions of dollars in proceeds were laundered and transferred to Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Two Pakistani nationals have been indicted in Chicago for allegedly participating in a $10 million health care fraud scheme that targeted Medicare and private insurers, the US Justice Department said on Thursday.
A federal grand jury charged Burhan Mirza, 31, who resided in Pakistan, and Kashif Iqbal, 48, who lived in Texas, with submitting fraudulent claims for medical services and equipment that were never provided, according to an indictment filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Medicare is the US federal health insurance program primarily serving Americans aged 65 and older, as well as certain younger people with disabilities.
“Rooting out fraud is a priority for this Justice Department, and these defendants allegedly billed millions of dollars from Medicare and laundered the proceeds to Pakistan,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
“These alleged criminals stole from a program designed to provide health care benefits to American seniors and the disabled, not line the pockets of foreign fraudsters,” he added. “We will not tolerate these schemes that divert taxpayer dollars to criminals.”
Prosecutors said that in 2023 and 2024, the defendants and their alleged co-conspirators used nominee-owned laboratories and durable medical equipment providers to bill Medicare and private health benefit programs for nonexistent services.
According to the indictment, Mirza obtained identifying information of individuals, providers and insurers without their knowledge and used it to support fraudulent claims submitted on behalf of shell companies. Iqbal was allegedly linked to several durable medical equipment providers that filed false claims and is accused of laundering proceeds and coordinating transfers of funds to Pakistan.
Mirza faces 12 counts of health care fraud and five counts of money laundering. Iqbal is charged with 12 counts of health care fraud, six counts of money laundering and one count of making a false statement to US law enforcement. Arraignments have not yet been scheduled.
Three additional defendants, including an Indian, previously charged in the investigation, have pleaded guilty to federal health care fraud charges and are awaiting sentencing.
An indictment contains allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
