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Kota Kinabalu: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) of the Kudat Maritime Zone busted an attempt to smuggle 160kg of dried turtle meat and 500kg of balat (sea cucumbers), estimated to be worth RM200,000, out of Sabah through Kudat waters on July 7.

Its Director Maritime Commander Maurice Grenville Abeyeratne said 23 sacks containing the meat and 52 filled with balat were thrown off the suspect’s boat.

He said in a statement Thursday that MMEA detected a boat believed to be engaged in suspicious activities along the eastern coast of Pantai Tanjung Kalutan, Kudat, around 5pm.

The boat then fled to shallow waters to avoid apprehension, he said.

The case is being investigated under the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 for smuggling protected species.