Police crack bid to smuggle turtle eggs

KOTA KINABALU: More than 2,000 turtle eggs were seized as marine police intercepted a foreign pump boat trying to sneak into Sandakan.

Marine police Region 4 acting commander Supt Mohd Nasir Othman said the skipper managed to dive into Batu Putih river and escape after a short chase at about 6.10am yesterday.

He said they seized the boat, its engine and over 2,000 turtle eggs stuffed in four bags with a street value of RM4,000.

“We were patrolling the area when they spotted the boat in the open sea. When we tried to flag down the boat for inspection, the skipper sped off triggering a high speed chase before we apprehended it,” he said.

Checks showed the pump boat had a Philippines registration

The case will be investigated under the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997.