Operation team found a man-made shelter believed used to keep tangar tree barks.
KUDAT (Sept 30): The Marine Operation Force (MOF) seized RM420,000 worth of tangar tree barks at the mangrove area at Sungai Mengkapung Pitas.
Kudat MOF’s Assistant Superintendent ASP Cyril Douglas said a team was sent to the site around 3pm on Wednesday after they received information of an illegal activity in the area.
“MOF personnel found a man-made shelter in the middle of the mangrove swamp and upon further inspection found tangar tree barks that were believed ready to be smuggled out from the area and into a neighboring country.
“We immediately seized all the tangar tree barks and handed them to the Pitas Forestry Department for further action,” he said, adding that the shelter was later destroyed and burned.
No arrests were made but investigation believed the tangar tree barks were valued at RM420,000 in the local market.