KUALA LUMPUR: The Wildlife and National Parks Department (Pehilitan) busted a lucrative trade of selling wildlife skins and body parts with the arrest of three Indian nationals in what was believed to be the biggest wildlife seizure this year.
The three suspected illegal wildlife traders, two men and a woman were picked up during an operation by the department's Wildlife Crime Unit (WCU) codenamed "Ops Geng Rajja" on Aug 26.
Perhilitan Enforcement Director Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim in a press conference today said 1,241 units of animal parts from tiger skins to elephant hair which were estimated to be valued at over RM 100,000 were seized during the operation.
"The suspects who are in their 40's had allegedly been selling purportedly wildlife parts including tiger skins and claws around Jalan Pudu here,"he said.
He said, the department made the arrests upon one-week surveillance at two separate locations, the Pudu Central building and a budget hotel along Jalan Pudu where the items were kept.
He added that the wild animals were believed to be from India and the parts were smuggled by the suspects who had entered into the country as tourists.
"We also believe that this is not their first time in Malaysia.We have sent the DNA to the lab to ascertain where the animals come from," Kadir said at the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) headquarters in Cheras here.
Kadir added that the suspected wildlife criminals who have been operating for about a year acted by getting in touch with regular customers and approaching their targeted customers along the roadside.
"These people know their targets well. In the one week observation, we see at least one customer a day. They seem to know who to approach and sell their items to," he said.
The suspects will carry only some of the items in a pouch bag and will approach passers-by at the roadside and will get the other items from a budget hotel where they process the parts upon request, said the enforcement director.
"The tiger skins were sold at RM9,000 per piece while the claws were sold between RM100 and RM200. The price is negotiable. The elephant hairs were made into rings and bracelets and sold for RM30 each," he said.
He added that the parts were believed to be used for religious purposes and there is apparently a demand for wildlife parts in the country.
The wildlife authorities had confiscated what was purportedly;
-5 tiger skins
-471 units of tiger claws
-25 tiger teeth
-309 units of wildlife skin
-22 units of wildlife body parts
-17 units of tiger paws
-362 units of elephant hair made into rings and bracelets
-20 units of wildlife veins
-A packet of wildlife claws
-2 units of wildlife tails
-7 knots of elephant hair