GEORGE TOWN – Malaysia has been identified as a transit country for international illegal wildlife smuggling, especially for the Malayan pangolin species.
Wildlife and National Parks Department Director-General Datuk Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim said most of the pangolins were brought in from Indonesia, to be exported to several countries such as Vietnam and China.
“Last year alone, we disposed of two tonnes of pangolin remains. Usually, the meat or live pangolins will be marketed to Vietnam and China.
“But there are also pangolin scales from South Africa that are smuggled into our country.
“These pangolin scales are of high value and (are) in demand,” he said at a press conference today.
Earlier, Kadir attended the Operasi Bersepadu Khazanah meeting that involved cooperation from other agencies such as the Customs Department and police.
The operation, which is ongoing since 2019, was implemented to combat issues of encroachment, illegal logging, wildlife hunting, and theft of the country’s forest products.
Within these three years, Kadir said, this year recorded the highest value of seizures at RM31.86 million as of November.
In fact, he said a total of 69 investigation papers were opened this year on various criminal offenses, where Johor recorded the highest number of cases at 17, followed by Pahang with 13 cases.
“Within three years of this operation, a total of 181 investigation papers were opened, involving 350 arrests with a total confiscation value of RM36.11 million.
“We no longer want to be a transit country. Therefore, this integrated operation will be continued and further enhanced with other security agencies to detect intrusion hotspots and other offenses,” he added. – The Vibes, November 30, 2021
