Malaysia: 62 pangolins seized after fortnight stakeout

Hamdan Raja Abdullah, The Star 17 Dec 09;

MUAR: After keeping watch on the activities of a group for two weeks, marine police here swooped in on them and seized 62 pangolins valued at over RM100,000.

Some 31 live pangolins were found in two cars near a house in Taman Tasik Ria in Tangkak and in the living room of a house while another 31 frozen pangolins were found in a freezer in the kitchen.

Muar marine police officer Insp Mohd Naser Marzuke said the team also seized the two cars used to transport the animals in the 9pm raid on Tuesday.

“Our team was monitoring the movements of suspects believed to be involved with pangolin smuggling and spotted their cars in Tangkak.

“However, when the team followed the cars to a house, the men abandoned the cars and fled,” he told reporters at the Muar marine police jetty yesterday.

Insp Mohd Naser said there were three men in each car but they managed to run to the back of the house and disappeared into the dark.

The team then checked the house and found 13 sacks with live pangolins in the living room and 31 frozen ones in a freezer.

All the pangolins were taken to the Muar marine police jetty before being surrendered to the Wildlife Department.

Meanwhile, Muar Wildlife and National Parks Department chief Mohd Faizal Moin said pangolins were protected animals and smugglers could be charged under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.

Marine police seize 62 pangolins
New Straits Times 17 Dec 09;

MUAR: Marine police seized 62 live and frozen pangolins worth more than RM100,000, believed smuggled from Indonesia, in a raid on a terrace house in Taman Ria Tasik near Tangkak.

Ten live pangolins were found in gunny sacks that were in a parked Proton Saga while eight more were in a Proton Iswara. Both cars were parked in front of the house.

Thirteen dead pangolins were found in the living room and 31 frozen pangolins were found in the refrigerator. The marine police team had acted on a tip-off when they raided the house.

The team, led by Muar marine operations and investigation unit chief Inspector Mohd Naser Marzuke, entered the premises at 9pm on Tuesday.

However, the smugglers, believed to be in their 20s, managed to flee via the back door.

Naser said investigations revealed that the smugglers had rented the house about a month ago and had used it to store the animals to be sold to neighbouring countries.

Pangolin meat fetches up to RM300 per kilogramme on the black market.

Initial investigations revealed that the pangolins were smuggled into the country via illegal jetties along the Muar-Malacca shores.

Malaysian marine police seize 62 pangolins: official
Yahoo News 17 Dec 09;

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Malaysian marine police said Thursday they had seized 62 pangolins, destined for cooking pots and medicine shops overseas, in a two-week operation.

Police in southern Johor state seized 31 live pangolins -- also known as scaly anteaters -- packed in blue sacks in the living room of a house and found another 31 frozen creatures in a freezer, marine police official Mohammad Naser Marzuke said.

"Following two weeks of monitoring, we trailed six suspects who were travelling in two cars and who then unloaded the live pangolins in the house," Mohammad Naser told AFP.

"However, by the time we reached them, their lookouts had alerted the group and they all fled, abandoning the cars and the pangolins," he said, adding that police were still on the lookout for the group.

"We have handed the pangolins over to the wildlife authorities as we continue our investigations."

Indigenous to the jungles of Indonesia and parts of Malaysia as well as southern Thailand, pangolins are considered a delicacy in China but are classified as a protected species under the UN's Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Wildlife officials have said pangolins face a serious threat from poachers and smugglers in Southeast Asia where inadequate enforcement and lack of information encourages the burgeoning trade.