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SANDAKAN – Sabah’s General Operation Force (GOF) has arrested a Filipino man, who attempted to smuggle about 3,000 turtle eggs from the Philippines into Sandakan via a pump boat, at about 8.30pm last night.
The 31-year-old suspect was arrested near Pulau Nunuyan by GOF Battalion 15 personnel, who were on an Op Benteng patrol.
Battalion commanding officer Toipi Lamat said his team spotted the boat, which was heading fast towards Kg Nunuyan Darat here, and stopped it.
“The suspect has no valid identification document.
“Upon inspection of the boat, we found six sacks of turtle eggs, each containing about 500 eggs. That’s about 3,000 eggs in total.
“We believe that the suspect had thrown some into the sea before he was stopped.
“Initial investigation found that the suspect tried to smuggle the eggs from Taganak Island in the Philippines into Sandakan for sale. All the items, including the boat, have been seized for further action.”
The case will be investigated under the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 and Immigration Act 1959/63. – The Vibes, April 18, 2021
