A man was sentenced to nine months in prison on Thursday in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, for the illegal introduction of an invasive species, becoming the first publicly sentenced case of the crime in the country, according to the local intermediate people's court.

The man, surnamed Yi, was also fined 100,000 yuan ($14,163) for illegally introducing 1,760 red-eared slider turtles, also known as Brazilian turtles, which are recognized worldwide as "ecological killers", the Intermediate People's Court said.

They are included in China's list of key management of exotic invasive species and are classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as one of the 100 most dangerous invasive species.

The turtles were confiscated after Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Customs officers discovered them in a vehicle driven by Yi with Guangdong and Macao license plates during an inspection at the port's inbound passenger car channel on Oct 21, 2022.

Upon further inspection, officers found many live turtles hidden in the sunroof, sun visor crevices and a concealed compartment in the armrest box.

Yi claimed that these "turtle seedlings" were for breeding purposes but failed to provide valid quarantine certificates.

With the development of cross-border e-commerce and international express delivery, the channels for introducing alien species have become more covert, and the variety of species has become more diverse, the customs said.

The booming domestic market for exotic pets in recent years has posed significant challenges to China's biological security and ecological safety, according to the customs.

From January to August, the Gongbei Customs in Zhuhai, which administrates the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Customs, intercepted 31,000 batches of prohibited importation of animals, plants and other products, of which approximately 26,000 harmful organisms were detected.