Seized: Seven monitor lizards, 115kg of croc meat and one dead panther
Malaysian authorities seize $42,000 worth of protected animals sold for consumption
New Paper 29 May 08;
FINDING the carcass of a black panther was a first for the Selangor Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan).
Its meat was destined for the black market.
It was among some RM100,000 ($42,000) worth of meat and animals seized from a house in Taman Segar Perdana, a Kuala Lumpur suburb, the officers said at a press conference on Monday.
Perhilitan had raided the house at 7pm on Sunday, thanks to tip-offs by neighbours, reported New Straits Times.
Two men were arrested on suspicion of trafficking in protected animals.
Other items seized included 115kg of crocodile meat, seven monitor lizards, 16kg of venison, 70 live pythons and three dead ones.
State director Rahmat Topani said the suspects, in their 40s, were not part of a larger ring of exotic meat traffickers but were instead middlemen between illegal hunters and restaurants in Kuala Lumpur.
It is believed the men were paid RM20 per kg of meat and were using the house as a storage facility.
In a separate raid last week, Perhilitan arrested three men who sold endangered animals on the Internet.
The officers, posing as buyers, met the men in the carparks of two hypermarkets in Puchong, Selangor, and arrested them.
One of them was known as 'Rich Snake Man', who ran a thriving Internet service selling snakes to overseas subscribers.
His customers paid between RM1,000 ($420) and RM2,000 for each snake they picked, based on photos posted online, reported Harian Metro.
As the snakes he sold were no bigger than the size of a palm, he often carried them in a small bag.
The snakes could live without food for a month, so they easily survived their journey out of Malaysia.
NABBED
Rich Snake Man had been in business for about three years, said Mr Rahmat.
'Based on information from the public and inquiries, we found his website and succeeded in making contact with the suspect.
'We arranged to meet to buy several snakes for a few thousand ringgit.'
At the Puchong hypermarket, the suspect took the undercover Perhilitan officers to a luxury SUV.
The man was caught and the snakes seized included five ball pythons and one burmese python.
He was fined the maximum RM3,000, Harian Metro quoted Mr Rahmat as saying.
The cases against the other two is being heard in court.
