KOTA KINABALU: A 40-year-old man was detained yesterday for possessing 23 live pangolins while attempting to enter Sabah from Sarawak.
Sabah Wildlife Department spokesperson Siti Nur’ain Ampuan Acheh said the arrest was made at about 11.50am on Friday at a roadblock at Kemabong-Tenom, about a five hours’ drive from here.
“Based on information from the public, an enforcement unit of the Sabah Wildlife Department, with the assistance of two wildlife wardens, arrested the man from Lawas, Sarawak.
“The live pangolins were found in blue and black nylon sacks in the boot of a Proton Waja the man was driving,” she said in a statement.
Siti added that the man is believed to have been smuggling the animals from Lawas to Keningau for sale.
The department, together with other enforcement agencies, recently busted a smuggling syndicate with the seizure of pangolins worth RM8.5 million.
The World Wildlife Fund-Malaysia said on Friday that the record seizure demonstrates that much more needs to be done to protect the endangered species, which has been dubbed “the world’s most trafficked animal”.
The Sunda pangolin is a Totally Protected Species listed under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997.
Any person found in possession of any species or product listed under Schedule 1 without lawful authority is liable for imprisonment for not less than one year and not exceeding 5 years; and a fine of not less than RM50,000 but not more than RM250,000, or to both.
