Sabah Wildlife Dept nabs man believed to be selling turtle eggs online

KOTA KINABALU: A man who is believed to have been actively selling turtle eggs online has been nabbed during a special operation dubbed "Ops Tapau".

The suspect, a 21-year-old, was nabbed at a parking lot near a supermarket in Putatan near here, at about 11am Friday (June 26).

Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said prior to the man’s arrest, the department had been getting information about the illegal online trade from the public.

“We launched an investigation into it and finally caught a suspect,” he said.

He said they seized 20 turtle eggs from the suspect during the arrest.

Tuuga reminded the public that all turtles are protected species under the Wildlife Conservation Enactment.

Recently, conservationists have discovered that turtle eggs were being sold in various e-commerce platforms and private group chats on social media platforms.