Malaysia: MMEA arrests five turtle hunters

RUBEN SARIO The Star 1 May 17;

KOTA KINABALU: An ongoing intelligence gathering effort paid off when authorities stopped five men from hunting endangered sea turtles in waters off the east coast Semporna district.

Semporna Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) director Maritime Lt Commander Kama Azri Kamil said the men were arrested after 25 turtle shells and more than 100kg of meat were found on their boat at about 12.50am on Monday.

He said the five men, aged between 19 and 50, are believed to be foreigners and did not have any identification documents on them.

He said the five men were detained under the Wildlife Conservation Enactment and the Immigration Act for further action.

"We are continuously monitoring activities in waters off Semporna to prevent any illegal activity there," he added.