19,000 Sea Turtle Eggs Seized in Anti-Smuggling Operation
In this week’s crime blotter: Filipinos detained on suspicion of smuggling, an ivory kingpin jailed for 20 years, and seized pangolin scales worth $1.8 million.
Police seized 19,000 sea turtle eggs off the coast of Malaysia in the early hours of July 16 in a special operation to hobble a major smuggling syndicate, the Straits Times of Singapore reports.
Malaysian Marine Police in the state of Sabah got a tip-off that smugglers were in the area, so they sent three police vessels to intercept them. When the police vessels came into view of the suspected smugglers’ four wooden boats, a chase ensued.
“The team spotted the pump boats around 1:30 a.m., and a chase ensued,” Sabah Marine Police Chief Assistant Commissioner Mohamad Madun told Malaysia’s New Straits Times. “After a brief pursuit at sea, our men managed to intercept the boats.”
On board they found sacks
