JOHOR BARU: ENDAU Rompin National Park in Mersing has become the target of agarwood thieves.
The state government is planning to train enforcement officers from the state Wildlife and National Parks Department, and Forestry Department to prevent thefts.
State Health and Environment executive committee chairman Datuk Ayub Rahmat said the activity was uncovered when surveillance footage showed foreigners taking the prized wood.
He said, so far, the authorities had not carried out any arrests.
He said they would step up enforcement to make sure that syndicates were brought to justice.
“It can’t be denied that this happens and this is proven with the discovery of footprints and food waste around the area during Op Jelai which was conducted in collaboration with the Malaysian Armed Forces in May,” said Ayub.
“Based on the video footage that was received from World Wildlife Fund Malaysia, the crime was committed by foreigners who entered the park illegally through Pahang and smuggled the agarwood out to be sold in the black market.
“Operations to detect them have been conducted but our efforts have failed because we are facing several obstacles.
“We lack trained officers and the condition of the forest is too harsh for us to properly cover.”
He said the monitoring would continue and hoped that the Pahang government would take similar actions to curb the illegal activity.
“At the moment, the thieves are smuggling agarwood out because of its high value on the black market,” said Ayub.
“But, it is not unthinkable that they are also on the lookout for exotic wildlife. That is why we need to step up enforcement.”
He said the total loss from the illegal activity could not be ascertained yet.
He said they were waiting for a report from the park’s management.
Meanwhile, Mersing district officer Nasir Abdul Salam said the activity had become widespread and was a topic that was frequently raised at district security meetings.