Anti-smuggling raid nets six men and cockle spats

THE Kedah Anti-Smuggling Unit (UPP) arrested six men and seized cockle spats worth RM37,440 at a warehouse.

Kedah UPP commander Supt Abdul Latif Abdul Rahman said that based on a tip-off, their team raided a warehouse in the Bukit Kayu Hitam Industrial Zone.

He said they found six cars at the site.

Upon checking the cars, the team found 96 sacks of spats, weighing 3,360kg in total, hidden in the back seats and the boots of the six cars.

“Initial investigations reveal that the men brought in the spats from Perak using a lorry and later transferred the sacks of spats to the cars to be taken to Thailand.

“It is believed that the men were paid between RM300 and RM400 each for the job,” he said.

He added there was a high demand in Thailand for cockle spats and they could be sold for five times more than the market price in Malaysia.

He added that the suspects were detained for violating the Fisheries Regulations (Cockles Conservation & Culture) 2002.

“The seized cockle spats will be handed over to the Fisheries Department,” he said.