Group found cooking turtle meat in uninhabited island

Police on Friday found a group of people cooking turtle meat in a raid on an uninhabited island in B. Atoll.

A police spokesperson told Sun that the police went to the uninhabited island in response to a report they received regarding a group of people cooking turtle meat in B. Keyodhoo.

The case was reported to the police at 04:38 pm.

The case is under investigation, said the police.

Police said information regarding the case has been shared with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). However, EPA was not immediately available for comment regarding the incident.

Police have not made any arrest in connection to the case.

Capture and harm of turtles in prohibited under Maldives’ Environmental Protection Act.

Causing harm to a single turtle is punishable with a fine of MVR 20,000. If the harm is inflicted on more than one turtle, perpetrators are fined MVR 25,000 for each turtle.