Audrey Dermawan New Straits Times 22 Sep 13;
LUMUT: AN Indonesian boat with RM412,000 worth of exotic animals and animal parts was detained in Malaysian waters by marine authorities here on Friday night.
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) officers found 70 live pangolins and 300kg of compressed snake skins hidden in various compartments inside the boat.
The four Indonesian crewmen, aged 27 to 44, were detained for questioning when they could not produce valid documents.
MMEA Lumut 3rd district maritime chief, Maritime Captain Abdul Razak Johan, said an MMEA boat, KM Nyalau, detained the boat about 38 nautical miles west of Pulau Pangkor.
"Checks showed that the boat, from Belawan, Indonesia had no registration number. The exotic animals from Indonesia were being smuggled into Malaysia."
Razak said the success was a result of cooperation between MMEA Perak and the state Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan), which carried out surveillance and shared information on the matter. He said the boat was towed to the Kampung Acheh Customs jetty for investigation and the case would be handed over to Perhilitan for prosecution.
MMEA officers foil exotic animal smuggling bid by Indonesians
The Star 22 Sep 13;
IPOH: Seventy live pangolins and 300kg of compressed snake skin were found on an Indonesian-registered boat that was intercepted by maritime enforcers off Pulau Pangkor, more than 100km from here.
Four Indonesians, aged 27 to 44, were detained by Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) officers 38 nautical miles west of the island on Friday.
“We believe the cargo was meant for the market here,” said Lumut MMEA enforcement chief Maritime Capt Abdul Razak Johan.
He said the boat was towed to the Kampung Acheh Customs jetty near Lumut and the case had been forwarded to the Wildlife and National Parks Department to be investigated under the International Trade in Endangered Species Act 2008.
Capt Abdul Razak said the cargo had a street value of RM412,000.
“My men were carrying out enforcement operations on KD Nyalau when they spotted the boat,” he said, adding that they proceeded to intercept and board it.
They found the pangolins and snake skin hidden in several compartments.
“The boat came from Belawan and our checks showed that the animals and the snake skin were being smuggled from Indonesia to Malaysia,” Capt Abdul Razak told reporters here yesterday.
According to him, the detained crewmen admitted that this was the second time this month they had smuggled exotic animals into Malaysia.
