MELAKA: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has seized 1,100 songbirds that were being smuggled across the Melaka Strait.

       MMEA’s Melaka and Negri Sembilan director Maritime Captain Haris Fadzillah Abdullah said the birds, which were of the Oriental magpie-robin species, were seized during an operation along the shores of Alai here on Wednesday.

       “We acted on a tip-off before intercepting a speedboat loaded with the birds.

       “The suspects managed to escape by fleeing into a nearby swampy area upon sighting my officers,” he said yesterday.

       Haris Fadzillah added that the confiscated birds were estimated to be worth about RM44,000.