Police intercept shipment of conchs

ZAMBOANGA CITY – A total of 106 boxes filled with assorted endangered species of helmet shells with an estimated market value of P1 million were intercepted in Jolo, Sulu, on Saturday.

Senior Supt. Abraham Orbita, Sulu police chief, said police personnel and representatives from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources received a tip from a concerned citizen that the shells were “being packed and scheduled to be transported to Cebu City and Manila.”

The shells, also known as conchs, were intercepted in the vicinity of Barangay Chinese Pier in Jolo. Arrested was Peralta Pula, 60, a local resident.

Pula is now detained at the Jolo Municipal Police Station pending the filing of appropriate charges against him.

Orbita said each box contained at least 12 helmet shells, which are used as ornaments or turned into costume jewelry.