ACAPULCO, Mexico - Police in southern Mexico say they have seized 9,000 protected sea turtle eggs and arrested seven men suspected of intending to sell them.

Police in the Pacific coast state of Guerrero said in a statement Tuesday that the eggs were discovered at a highway checkpoint in a truck driven by the suspects.

Sea turtles are a protected species in Mexico, but their eggs have long been considered a delicacy and an aphrodisiac by some consumers.

The suspects face prison terms of up to nine years if convicted of possessing the eggs.

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Several kinds of sea turtle lay their eggs on the Mexican coast. Authorities did not specify the species, but it appeared likely they were from Olive Ridley turtles.

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updated 2:36 p.m. CT, Wed., July. 30, 2008