Turtle eggs - 4,150 in total - seized on Friday night. - JAMES KON

Azlan Othman (Borneo Bulletin)

The lucrative trade of turtle eggs which costs $1 per piece in the black market compared to RM$10 for six eggs is said to be the reason behind the smuggling of the eggs into the sultanate, a customs enforcement official said.

He added that the turtle,eggs or popularly known as `ping-pong ball’ among the illicit traders were ordered through advance bookings and came from Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu. In recent months, the enforcement officials caught the smugglers red-handed through land route via Kuala Lurah or through the sea route in the Brunei waters.

Thousands of turtle eggs were saved from the cooking pot when customs officials on Friday night foiled an attempt to smuggle in a total of 4,150 turtle eggs (pic right) here, thanks to a tip off from the ‘public. It’s the biggest number of turtle eggs seized by local authorities so far this year.

The Bulletin learnt that traders back in the Kota Kinabalu market are selling them in seclusion and only target certain buyers including Bruneians who park their Brunei registered vehicle at the busy market. It is not sold openly where a hand signal, indicating a round shape is used.

Asked on the fate of the confiscated turtle eggs, the customs official said they would either be handed over to the Fisheries Department or destroyed, depending on the order from the court.

The turtle eggs confiscated on Friday were hidden under dried shrimp inside 13 boxes were revealed after a search conducted by officers on a 4×4 vehicle at the Kuala Lurah Control Post. A foreign man aged 46-year-old was detained for further investigation.

Any attempt to smuggle turtle eggs into or out of the country is an offence under the Wild Life Protection Act Chapter 102 Section 8 (1) Museums Act 2006 Chapter 140.

Meanwhile, concerned readers called on the authority to start a marketing campaign to stop eating turtle eggs in an effort to save the turtles from extinction. Gathering Bruneians to take an oath to not buy, sell and consume turtle eggs would be a good step.

A taxi driver and a father of a child from Kota Kinabalu told the Bulletin that he used to drive all the way to Sandakan just to get the turtle eggs while a Bruneian fly to Kota Kinabalu for a day trip just to fulfil the cravings of his pregnant wife.

Turtles play a critical role in keeping the marine ecosystems healthy. Marine turtles are threatened with extinction including the practice of consuming turtle eggs, caught in fishing gears, poorly planned coastal development, marine and nesting beach pollution as well as illegal trade of their parts.

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