Foreigner caught with 2,500 turtles claims no knowledge of luggage contents
KLIA Malaysian Border Control Agency (MBCA) commander Ibrahim Mohd Yusof said the 41-year-old suspect is believed to have acted as a mule for a wildlife smuggling syndicate.
He said the suspect had allegedly been hired to transport the luggage through Terminal 1 of KLIA but was detected by MBCA officers.
"During questioning, the suspect claimed he did not know the contents of the luggage, which he said had been prepared and handed to him by another individual.
"The suspect also claimed that his flight ticket was purchased by a third party," he said.
Checks with the Immigration Department showed that the suspect entered Malaysia as a foreign worker on Nov 29, 2023, and still holds a valid work permit until Nov 28 this year.
Ibrahim said the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) is conducting further investigations to determine the source of the turtles.
Based on available information, the turtles are believed to have come from local breeding farms supplying the international market.
However, he said the source country is not limited to Malaysia alone and could also include other Southeast Asian nations.
It was previously reported that the suspect was arrested at the Terminal 1 departure hall of KLIA on Tuesday with the turtles in his possession.
The man was reportedly detained while attempting to board a 10.05pm flight to Bengaluru, India.
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