Wildlife enforcement officers lured by big returns
KUALA LUMPUR: Huge profit is why some enforcement and government officers become masterminds in smuggling and the illicit trade of protected wildlife.
A source said these people were found to be colluding with poachers and had connections with international syndicates.
This was proven when several police officers, as well as former officers of the Royal Customs Department, were arrested in operations conducted by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia (Perhilitan) over the last few months.
The source said in a September raid, a police officer was arrested by Perhilitan for suspected involvement in the smuggling of pangolins or tenggiling in Kedah.
“Pangolins are highly soughtafter, especially in China, because their scales are used in the production of traditional medicine.
“Apart from that, their meat is a favourite for those who fancy exotic food.
“The police officer was detained at his home on suspicion of being the middleman to a syndicate in a neighbouring country,” the source said, adding that 81 pangolins were seized in the raid.
“However, Perhilitan is waiting until January next year to charge the suspect in court under Section 68 of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010.”
On Oct 30, the source said two Customs officers were sentenced to three years’ jail and fined RM230,000 by the Sepang magistrate’s court after they were found guilty of being involved in the smuggling of 31 black-spotted turtles.
“They were arrested on May 12, 2016, for possessing two bags containing the turtles at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2).”
It is learned that the duo, both aged 29 and 31, were still attached to the Royal Customs Department when they were nabbed.
“They were slapped with a maximum sentence for abusing their positions,” the source said, adding that the turtles were in the red list of threatened species.
Southeast Asian non-governmental organisation Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network which is fighting to combat the problem of wildlife smuggling said there was an increase in the number of pet reptiles being smuggled because of high demand in the Asian market.
A recent research revealed that at least 10,321 black-spotted turtles had been seized in 53 operations conducted between April 2014 and March 2016.
Some 300 wildlife species, with a majority of them being protected species are being sold online via Facebook on a daily basis.