200 rare turtles die on smugglers' boat heading from Malaysia to Vietnam
Maritime officials in Malaysia have seized 1,400 turtles from a local fishing vessel which was en route to sell them as food in Vietnam, but it was already too late for 200 of the endangered animals.
The turtles are a protected species in Malaysia.
They were to be sold in Vietnam for around US$9,500 and marketed as an “exotic dish”, officials from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said, as cited by the New Straits Times.
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Six people on the boat, aged between 23 and 44 years old, have been detained for questioning under the Wildlife Conservation Enactment.
Two of them are Malaysians while the others failed to produce identification papers.
