Attempt to smuggle pangolins foiled

 

NINETY-FOUR pangolins believed to be bound for the cooking pots in the region were seized by the authorities at the cargo complex in Batu Maung, Penang. The importer had shipped the animals in boxes from Sabah and declared them as crabs.

However, checks by the Penang Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) and the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services (Maqis) found that 43 of the 49 boxes contained pangolins. State Perhilitan director Jamalun Nasir Ibrahim said they were still investigating where the protected species worth about RM106,000 were heading. “We believe the animals will be sold in foreign markets where the demand for exotic meat is high. “The price of the pangolin meat can go up to RM220 per kg.

“We have not arrested anyone yet. But we have information on the importer and exporter,” he said at the Perhilitan office in Jalan Gurdwara, George Town. The smuggling attempt was foiled at about 12.30pm on Thursday in an operation led by state Maqis chief Abdul Hamid Sulaiman and Perhilitan officer Tang Teong Kim at the Kuala Lumpur Airport Services’ (KLAS) cargo complex.

Jamalun said the case was being investigated under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716) and if convicted, the offender would face a fine between RM50,000 and RM100,000 or a jail term up to three years. In a separate case, the department’s licensing unit led by officer Rofley Ambuka raided a petshop in Bukit Mertajam and found 103 turtles not listed in its registry.

There were 40 Southeast Asian Box Turtles (Cuora amboinensis), 41 Giant Asian Pond Turtles (Heosemys grandis) and 22 Black Marsh Turtles (siebenrockiella crassicollis) with a total market price of RM7,000.

Source: thestar.com