Police in south Denpasar are investigating a case of alleged theft at the Pantai Sindhu Turtle Conservation Center in Sanur, whereby a total of 24 sea turtles were stolen in the early hours of Monday.
I Made Winarta, who runs the center, told local media that surveillance cameras in the facility showed a person, wearing a black shirt and long jeans, climbing the fences around 3am on Monday.
“This is the first time we had our sea turtles stolen … The suspect looks like he might be foreign,” Winarta said, as quoted by Kompas.com.
He added that nine adult sea turtles of various sizes and species were stolen, along with 15 hatchlings.
Chief of the South Denpasar Police, Nyoman Wirajaya, said that authorities are still investigating the case, noting that collecting witnesses’ statement is challenging because the incident occurred very early in the morning.
“We have yet to determine whether it is a foreign citizen or a local resident,” Wirajaya said.
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