Malaysia: RM80mil of ivory and pangolin scales seized in Sabah

RUBEN SARIO The Star 8 Sep 17;

KOTA KINABALU:The Sabah Customs Department has seized RM80.5mil worth of elephant tusks and pangolin scales.

Department director-general Datuk Seri Subromaniam Tholasy said the contraband was seized from two containers at the Sepanggar port here on Aug 29.

He said the tusks and scales were believed to have originated from Nigeria and bound for China.

A 42-year-old local man has been arrested in connection with the seizure.


Customs confiscate illegal wildlife parts worth an astounding RM80.5mil
RUBEN SARIO The Star 9 Sep 17;

KOTA KINABALU: It was declared as a shipment of peanuts but tucked inside the two 20-foot containers was something much more exotic.

Inspections by Customs officers at the Sepanggar Port here unveiled a massive cache of wildlife parts – elephant tusks and pangolin scales – worth a staggering RM80.5mil.

The Aug 29 attempt by an international syndicate using the country’s port as a transit point to smuggle out the cache was thwarted with this latest success.

Last July, the world’s largest seizure of ivory took place in Hong Kong when more than seven tonnes arrived in a shipping container from Malaysia.

The 7,200kg shipment – valued at £7.1mil (RM39.1mil) – was uncovered by the authorities in the former British colony, highlighting the huge demand for the illegal ivory trade.

The pangolin, which resembles an armadillo, is the world’s most hunted animal.

Their scales are sold in the black market in Asia for their supposedly “healing properties”.

Customs director-general Datuk Seri Subro­maniam Tholasy described the latest seizure as “shocking” due to its sheer volume.

“We want to know how 1,148 elephant tusks, weighing more than three tonnes, worth RM9.9mil, and five tonnes of pangolin scales valued at RM70.6mil could slip through a port of a nearby country before arriving in Sabah.

“I am warning all these syndicates not to use Malaysian ports as transhipment points to smuggle illegal wildlife parts.

“We have zero tolerance and will take stern action,” he told a press conference yesterday.

Subromaniam said initial investigations showed the elephant tusks and pangolin scales had originated from Nigeria and were believed to be bound for China.

“We have upgraded our capabilities to scan shipments of containers which is why we managed to detect tonnes of elephant tusks and pangolin scales hidden in between a shipment of peanuts,” Subromaniam said.

He said a 42-year-old Sabahan has been detained in connection with the seizure.

The case is being investigated under Section 135 of the Customs Act 1967 and the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.

Animal parts and wildlife seized
The Star 8 Sep 17;

CHERAS: Protected animal parts and wildlife worth RM1mil were seized in two raids by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia (Perhilitan).

“The seized items include teeth and nails of bears and tigers which have an estimated value of RM1mil,” Perhilitan enforcement division director Salman Saaban told a press conference yesterday.

The first raid conducted by Perhilitan Perak on Aug 26 saw the seizure of 188 bears’ nails, 21 bears’ teeth, 17 tigers’ nails, eight tigers’ teeth and a deer antler among others.

Salman said the items were found in a four-wheel drive vehicle driven by a Vietnamese, in an Orang Asli settlement in Legap, Sungai Siput, Perak.

The Vietnamese man, who has a work permit, was remanded under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716) and charged in court.

“We believe he is not acting alone. There could be a syndicate involving locals. We are investigating previous cases that might be linked to this case,” he added.

The second raid was conducted by Perhilitan Kelantan on Sept 6 at a premises in Kampung Terap Banggu, Kota Baru, after the department received a tip-off.

Salman said 1,433 tortoises of various species, 86 iguanas and 300 snakes were found in 60 boxes but no one was arrested.

He said the department believed the seized items were to be smuggled overseas.


WWF Malaysia: Concerted effort needed against illegal wildlife trade
STEPHANIE LEE The Star 9 Sep 17;

KOTA KINABALU: The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia is urging state and federal agencies and departments to work together to put a halt to the illegal wildlife trade.

Its chief executive officer (CEO) and executive director Datuk Dr Dionysius Sharma (pic) said among the ways this could be done was the sharing of resources such as manpower and intelligence.

"We must show to the world that we mean business when it comes to the survival of wildlife," he said in a statement here Saturday.

He said this when congratulating the Customs Department for its recent success in confiscating some RM80.5mil worth of elephant tusks and pangolin scales in Sepanggar port on Aug 29.

"We at WWF-Malaysia remain committed to fighting wildlife crime by providing technical expertise and sharing information with government agencies, such as to the district anti-poaching task forces in Sabah," Dr Dionysius said.

According to news reports, the recent confiscation of the tusks and pangolin scales is believed to have originated from Nigeria and bound for China.

Dr Dionysius said this was a huge crime against wildlife, especially so as elephants and pangolins are also facing habitat loss and low reproduction rates.

He said the adult female for both species can only produce a single offspring at one time, and in the case of elephants, has the longest pregnancy period of all mammals that lasts more than a year and a half.

"The death of even one member of the species has a major impact on the whole population," said Dr Dionysius.