Tawau MMEA chief Capt (Maritime) Anor Jaafar said there were two suspects on the boat, both in their 30s, when the MMEA vessel intercepted the boat during a routine patrol at 12.30pm.
“We chanced upon the boat which was filled with four sacks of turtle skin weighing about 100kg,” he said in a statement, here today.
Anor said high quality turtle skin was used to design decorative items.
He added that in an unrelated case, the MMEA detained a husband and wife couple, aged 28 and 34, and seized medicine and cosmetics that were believed to have been smuggled in from a neighbouring country.
“Their boat was detained in Tawau waters at about 11.20am. The couple did not have any identification documents or approval to bring in medicine and cosmetics,” he said.
— BERNAMA
